Shloka 15
अपेतविध्वस्तमहार्ह भूषणं निपातितं शक्रसमं महाबलम् । रणे5भिमन्युं ददृुशुस्तदा जना व्यपोढहव्यं सदसीव पावकम्
apetavidhvastamahārhabhūṣaṇaṁ nipātitaṁ śakrasamaṁ mahābalam | raṇe 'bhimanyuṁ dadṛśus tadā janā vyapoḍhahavyaṁ sadasīva pāvakam ||
Sañjaya said: Then the people beheld Abhimanyu fallen on the battlefield—his precious ornaments stripped away and scattered, that mighty warrior who had been like Indra in prowess. He lay there like a sacrificial fire in an assembly after the oblations have been removed: once radiant and revered, now left bereft—an image of how war can desecrate what is noble and worthy of honor.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse contrasts Abhimanyu’s former splendor with his fallen state to highlight the moral cost of war: even the most worthy and radiant can be stripped of honor and left desolate. The simile of a sacrificial fire without oblations underscores impermanence and the ethical dissonance when violence empties life of its sanctity.
Sañjaya describes how onlookers on the battlefield see Abhimanyu lying dead, his precious ornaments removed and scattered. He is compared to a sacrificial fire in an assembly after offerings have been taken away—an evocative image of a once-glorious presence now rendered empty and abandoned.