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

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

paśyādyaitad mahāghore saṁyuge vaiśasaṁ mahat |

hemacitrāṇi śūrāṇāṁ mahānti ca śubhāni ca ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：“看哪，今日在这极其可怖的战斗中，何等巨大的杀戮正在发生！诸勇士那华美而厚重、镶饰黄金的甲胄，正被击碎。”

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.