Shloka 62

भीष्मस्य मध्याह्नयुद्धवर्णनम् / Mid-day Battle Description: Bhīṣma Engaged by the Pāñcālas

Devanagari script

कवचै: शोणितादिग्धैरविप्रकीर्णैक्ष काउ्चनै: । रराज सुभृशं भूमि: शान्तार्चिभिरिवानलै:

Transliteration

kavacaiḥ śoṇitādigdhair aviprakīrṇaiḥ kāñcanaiḥ | rarāja subhṛśaṃ bhūmiḥ śāntārcibhir ivānalaiḥ ||

Translation

桑阇耶说道：“战场熠熠生辉，遍地散落着沾血的金色甲胄——宛如一处处火焰已熄的余烬，只留下黯淡的微光。”

Word by Word

• कवचैः: with armours
• कवचैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कवच
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• शोणितादिग्धैः: smeared with blood
• शोणितादिग्धैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शोणित-आदिग्ध
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• अविप्रकीर्णैः: not scattered (i.e., lying close/undispersed)
• अविप्रकीर्णैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अ-विप्रकीर्ण
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• काञ्चनैः: golden
• काञ्चनैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: काञ्चन
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• रराज: shone, was resplendent
• Type: Verb
• Root: राज्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular

• सुभृशम्: exceedingly, greatly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सुभृशम्

• भूमिः: the ground, the earth (battlefield)
• भूमिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• शान्तार्चिभिः: with flames that are quieted
• शान्तार्चिभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शान्त-अर्चिस्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• इव: as if, like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• अनलैः: with fires
• अनलैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनल
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• battlefield/ground (bhūmi)
• golden armor (kāñcana-kavaca)
• blood (śoṇita)
• fire (anala)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse offers a moral-psychological contrast: the glitter of gold on the battlefield is inseparable from bloodshed. It hints at the impermanence of martial glory and the sobering ethical residue of violence, even when war is framed as a kṣatriya duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the ground of the battlefield is visibly strewn with blood-smeared golden armors. The scene is compared to extinguished fires lying in spots—suggesting a battlefield quieting after intense fighting.