Shloka 29
Adhyāya 18 — Sequential Duels and Formation Pressure
Ulūka–Yuyutsu; Śakuni–Sutasoma; Kṛpa–Dhṛṣṭadyumna; Kṛtavarmā–Śikhaṇḍin
पश्य भारत चापानि रुक्मपृष्ठानि धन्विनाम् | महतां चापविद्धानि कलापानिषुधीस्तथा,“भरतनन्दन! देखो, बड़े-बड़े धनुर्धरोंके ये सुवर्णजटित पृष्ठभागवाले धनुष, आभूषण और तरकस पड़े हुए हैं
paśya bhārata cāpāni rukmapṛṣṭhāni dhanvinām | mahatāṃ cāpaviddhāni kalāpāniṣu dhīstathā ||
Sañjaya nói: “Hỡi Bhārata, hãy nhìn—những cây cung của các cung thủ, lưng khảm vàng, nằm ngổn ngang; cả ống tên và hộp đựng tên cũng vậy, bị các dũng sĩ hùng mạnh bỏ lại.”
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
The verse highlights the transience of martial power: even splendid, gold-adorned weapons become abandoned objects amid slaughter. It implicitly cautions against pride in external might and points to the moral weight and loss inherent in war.
Sañjaya, reporting the battlefield to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, draws attention to the scattered bows and quivers of great archers—signs of fierce fighting, fallen warriors, and the disarray left in the wake of combat.