Shloka 32
Adhyāya 18 — Sequential Duels and Formation Pressure
Ulūka–Yuyutsu; Śakuni–Sutasoma; Kṛpa–Dhṛṣṭadyumna; Kṛtavarmā–Śikhaṇḍin
सुवर्णविकृतान् प्रासाञउशक्ती: कनकभूषिता: । जाम्बूनदमयै: पट्टैर्बद्धाश्न विपुला गदा:,'सोनेके बने हुए प्रास, सुवर्णभूषित शक्तियाँ, सोनेके पत्रोंसे जड़ी हुई विशाल गदाएँ, स्वर्णमयी ऋष्टि, सुवर्णभूषित पट्टिश तथा स्वर्णचित्रित दंडोंके साथ बहुत-से फरसे फेंके पड़े हैं, इनपर दृष्टिपात करो
suvarṇa-vikṛtān prāsān uśaktīḥ kanaka-bhūṣitāḥ | jāmbūnada-mayaiḥ paṭṭair baddhāś ca vipulā gadāḥ ||
Sañjaya disse: “Contempla—ali jazem espalhadas lanças forjadas em ouro, dardos śakti adornados de ouro, e enormes maças atadas com lâminas de ouro de Jāmbūnada.” Nesta visão do campo de batalha, o poeta ressalta a ironia sombria: riqueza e primor artesanal reduzidos a destroços em meio a uma matança movida pelo adharma, onde armas esplêndidas se tornam meros restos da ruína humana.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the futility of worldly splendor in war: even exquisitely crafted, gold-adorned weapons end up discarded on the ground. It implicitly critiques attachment to power and luxury when driven by adharma, showing how grandeur collapses into ruin amid violence.
Sanjaya, describing the Kurukṣetra battlefield to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, points out the scene of weapons lying scattered—spears, javelins, and heavy maces decorated with gold—emphasizing the scale of combat and the aftermath visible on the field.