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,“देखो, इस महाघोर संग्राममें आज यह कैसा महान्‌ जनसंहार हो रहा है? शूरवीरोंके स्वर्णजटित, शुभ एवं महान्‌ कवच अर्जुनके झुकी हुई गाँठवाले बाणोंद्वारा विदीर्ण किये जा रहे हैं। ध्वजके अग्रभाग, तोमर और धनुषोंके टुकड़े-टुकड़े किये जा रहे हैं

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

paśyādyaitad mahāghore saṁyuge vaiśasaṁ mahat |

hemacitrāṇi śūrāṇāṁ mahānti ca śubhāni ca ||

Translation

पश्याद्यैतन्महाघोरे संयुगे वैशसं महत् । हेमचित्राणि शूराणां महान्ति च शुभानि च ॥

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.