Shloka 25

Bhīṣma’s Fall, the Arrow-bed (śara-talpa), and the Establishment of Guard

Devanagari script

पश्याद्यैतन्महाघोरे संयुगे वैशसं महत्‌ | हेमचित्राणि शूराणां महान्ति च शुभानि च

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

paśyādyaitad mahāghore saṁyuge vaiśasaṁ mahat |

hemacitrāṇi śūrāṇāṁ mahānti ca śubhāni ca ||

Translation

サンジャヤは言った。「見よ、今日この凄惨なる合戦において、いかに大いなる殺戮が起こっていることか。黄金で飾られた勇士たちの壮麗で重厚な鎧が、砕き裂かれている。」

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'sañjaya uvāca', 'definition': 'Sañjaya said'}, {'term': 'paśya', 'definition': 'behold

• see'}, {'term': 'adya', 'definition': 'today

• now'}, {'term': 'etat', 'definition': 'this (scene/event)'}, {'term': 'mahāghora', 'definition': 'most terrible

• exceedingly dreadful'}, {'term': 'saṁyuga', 'definition': 'battle

• armed encounter'}, {'term': 'vaiśasa', 'definition': 'slaughter

• cruel destruction'}, {'term': 'mahat', 'definition': 'great

• vast'}, {'term': 'hema-citra', 'definition': 'adorned/ornamented with gold'}, {'term': 'śūra', 'definition': 'hero

• warrior'}, {'term': 'mahant', 'definition': 'great

• mighty'}, {'term': 'śubha', 'definition': 'auspicious

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• battle (saṁyuga)
• heroes/warriors (śūrāḥ)
• gold-adorned armor (hemacitrāṇi kavacāni)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the grim ethical weight of war: even splendid, gold-adorned symbols of heroism are reduced to ruin, reminding the listener that martial glory is fragile and that violence carries an inescapable human cost.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, reporting the battlefield to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, points out the immense carnage in the terrible fight and describes how the warriors’ magnificent, gold-ornamented armor is being broken amid the clash.