Shloka 20
अध्याय ५३ — रणमेघोपमा सेना-वर्णना तथा सुषेण-वधोत्तर प्रतिक्रिया
Battle-as-Storm Imagery and the Aftermath of Suṣeṇa’s Fall
स विचर्मा महाराज खड्गपाणिरुपाद्रवत् । कृपस्य वशमापत्नो मृत्योरास्यमिवातुर:,महाराज! जैसे रोगी मौतके मुँहमें पहुँच गया हो, उसी प्रकार कृपाचार्यके वशमें पड़ा हुआ शिखण्डी अपनी ढाल कट जानेपर केवल तलवार हाथमें लिये उनकी ओर दौड़ा
sa vicarmā mahārāja khaḍgapāṇir upādravat | kṛpasya vaśam āpanno mṛtyor āsyam ivāturaḥ ||
Sinabi ni Sañjaya: “O Hari, si Śikhaṇḍin—naputol ang kaniyang kalasag—ay sumugod na may tabak sa kamay. Nang mapasailalim sa kapangyarihan ni Kṛpa, siya’y lumusob na wari’y maysakit na umabot na sa mismong bibig ng Kamatayan.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the tragic momentum of war: courage can persist even when one is disadvantaged, but bravery without protection or strategic advantage may become a rush toward death. The simile of a sick man entering Death’s mouth stresses human vulnerability and the moral bleakness of battlefield inevitability.
Śikhaṇḍin’s shield has been cut down; he continues the fight with only a sword in hand and charges toward Kṛpācārya. Sañjaya describes Śikhaṇḍin as being under Kṛpa’s dominance, likening his advance to a doomed, helpless approach to Death itself.