Shloka 54
Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)
परिस्तोमान् विचित्रांश्व कक्ष्याश्न कनकोज्ज्वला: | ग्रैवेयाण्यथ शक्तीक्ष पताका: कणपांस्तथा,इति श्रीमहा भारते भीष्मपर्वणि भीष्मवधपर्वणि द्वितीययुद्धदिवसे कलिड्रराजवधे चतुष्पञ्चाशत्तमो<ध्याय:
sañjaya uvāca |
paristomān vicitrāṁś ca kakṣyāś ca kanakojjvalāḥ |
graiveyāṇy atha śaktīkṣa patākāḥ kaṇapāṁs tathā ||
Disse Sañjaya: “Havia também muitos ornamentos e arreios esplêndidos e variados, brilhantes de ouro—como grinaldas e faixas decorativas, adornos de pescoço; e, ó de braços poderosos, lanças, estandartes e outros apetrechos de guerra.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse is primarily descriptive, but it implicitly contrasts the glittering external pageantry of war—golden ornaments, banners, and weapons—with the grave moral weight of battle, reminding the reader that worldly brilliance often accompanies, and can mask, suffering and destruction.
Sañjaya continues his battlefield report by listing the ornate trappings and martial equipment visible in the scene—gold-bright decorations, neck-ornaments, lances, and banners—conveying the scale and grandeur of the armies’ display during the fighting.