Shloka 3
Aśvatthāmā’s Lamentation, Vow of Retaliation, and the Manifestation of the Nārāyaṇāstra (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय १६६)
प्रदीपानां सहसैश्ष॒ दीप्यमानै: समनन््तत: । रत्नाचितै: स्वर्णदण्डैर्गन्धतैलावसिज्चितै:,चारों ओर हजारों मशालें जल रही थीं। उनके डंडे सोनेके बने हुए थे और उनमें रत्न जड़े हुए थे। उन मशालोंपर सुगन्धित तेल डाला जाता था
sañjaya uvāca | pradīpānāṃ sahasraiś ca dīpyamānaiḥ samanantataḥ | ratnācitaiḥ svarṇadaṇḍair gandhatailāvasiñcitaiḥ ||
Sañjaya said: All around, thousands of lamps blazed brightly. Their shafts were of gold, inlaid with gems, and they were continually fed with fragrant oil—an opulent illumination set amid the grim theatre of war, where outward splendor contrasts with the inner darkness of violence and grief.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the contrast between external magnificence and the harsh reality of war: lavish arrangements and sensory beauty cannot erase the ethical weight of violence and the suffering it brings.
Sañjaya describes a scene illuminated on all sides by thousands of blazing torches—gold-handled, jewel-inlaid, and kept burning with fragrant oil—setting the atmosphere for the events unfolding in the war narrative.