Shloka 25
भीष्मरथाभिमुख्यं — Arjuna’s advance with Śikhaṇḍin; Duḥśāsana’s interception
चर्मभिक्षामरैश्षित्रै: पताकाभिक्न मारिष | छत्रै: सितैहेमदण्डैश्वामरैश्व समनन्तत:
carma-bhikṣāmaraiś citraiḥ patākābhikhnā māriṣa | chatraiḥ sitaiḥ hema-daṇḍaiś cāmaraiś ca samanantataḥ ||
Wika ni Sañjaya: “O kagalang-galang, sa paligid ay nagkalat ang mga kalasag, mga makukulay na pamaypay na buntot-yak (cāmara), at mga punit na watawat; naroon din ang mga puting payong na may gintong tungkod at mga cāmara ng seremonya. Sa ibabaw ng nagkalat na karangyaan ng digmaan, ang mga elepante—gaya ng mga bagong ulap ng kulog—ay nakitang humahagibis sa lahat ng dako, umuungal nang nakapangingilabot.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse underscores the fragility of worldly splendor: the very emblems of sovereignty—parasols, banners, and fly-whisks—lie scattered on the battlefield, suggesting that power and prestige collapse under the force of adharma-driven conflict and the inevitability of war’s devastation.
Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene: shields and royal insignia are strewn everywhere, while elephants—compared to newly formed thunderclouds—rush about in all directions with terrifying roars, intensifying the sense of chaos after fierce fighting.