Shloka 13
कर्णपर्व — अध्याय ५७
Arjuna’s targeted advance; Śalya–Karṇa dialogue; interception attempts
हस्तिदन्तत्सरून् खड्गान् जातरूपपरिष्कृतान् । वर्माणि चापविद्धानि रुक्मगर्भाणि भारत,“भारत! हाथीके दाँतकी बनी हुई मूँठवाले सुवर्णजटित खड्ग तथा स्वर्णभूषित कवच भी फेंके पड़े हैं
sañjaya uvāca |
hastidantatsarūn khaḍgān jātarūpapariṣkṛtān |
varmāṇi cāpaviddhāni rukmagarbhāṇi bhārata ||
Sañjaya said: “O Bhārata, swords with hilts fashioned from elephant ivory and adorned with refined gold lay cast aside; and coats of mail too—gold-inlaid—had been flung away. Thus the battlefield showed the waste of wealth and craftsmanship before the relentless truth of war.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the futility of worldly opulence in the face of war: even exquisitely crafted, gold-adorned weapons and armor become discarded objects amid destruction, pointing to impermanence and the moral cost of conflict.
Sañjaya describes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the battlefield scene in the Karṇa Parva: costly swords with ivory hilts and gold-inlaid armor are seen lying thrown aside, indicating intense fighting and the scattering of warriors’ equipment.