Shloka 14
Jayadratha-rakṣā: Conch Signals and Encirclement of Arjuna
Chapter 79
अद्य पश्यामि पृथिवीं शून्यामिव हतत्विषम् । अभिमन्युमपश्यन्ती शोकव्याकुललोचना,“अभिमन्युको न देखनेके कारण मेरे नेत्र शोकसे व्याकुल हो रहे हैं। आज मुझे सारी पृथ्वी सूनी एवं कान्तिहीन-सी दिखायी देती है
adya paśyāmi pṛthivīṃ śūnyām iva hatatviṣam | abhimanyum apaśyantī śokavyākulalocanā ||
Sañjaya said: “Today the earth itself appears to me as though empty and robbed of its radiance. Not seeing Abhimanyu, my eyes are overwhelmed and shaken by grief.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights how the loss of a righteous and beloved warrior makes the world seem bereft of meaning and beauty; it underscores the ethical cost of war—victory and strategy are shadowed by irreversible human grief.
Sañjaya, reporting the events of the Kurukṣetra war, expresses a vision of desolation: because Abhimanyu is no longer seen (implying his fall), the very earth appears empty and lusterless, and the observer’s eyes are clouded by sorrow.