Shloka 68

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

Devanagari script

विबभौ तद्‌ रणस्थानं स्यन्दमानैरिवाचलै: । नानारागै: कम्बलैश्व परिस्तोमैश्नव दन्तिनाम्‌

Transliteration

vibabhau tad raṇasthānaṃ syandamānair ivācalaiḥ | nānārāgaiḥ kambalaiś ca paristomaiś caiva dantinām ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：那战场光辉夺目，宛如群山奔流倾泻而下——诸象背上铺陈的五彩毯褥与精美覆饰，使其更显华丽。

Word by Word

• विबभौ: shone, appeared splendid
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि√भा
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• तत्: that
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• रणस्थानम्: battlefield (place of battle)
• रणस्थानम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: रणस्थान
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• स्यन्दमानैः: flowing, streaming
• स्यन्दमानैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स्यन्दमान
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

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

• अचलैः: mountains
• अचलैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अचल
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• नाना-रागैः: of various colors
• नाना-रागैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नानाराग
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• कम्बलैः: blankets, coverings
• कम्बलैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कम्बल
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• परिस्तोमैः: coverings/spreads, layers (as strewn around)
• परिस्तोमैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: परिस्तोम
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• नव: new, fresh
• नव: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नव
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• दन्तिनाम्: of elephants
• Type: Noun
• Root: दन्तिन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• raṇasthāna (battlefield)
• dantin (elephants)
• kambala (blankets/coverings)
• paristoma (spreads/coverlets)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse implicitly contrasts the grandeur and pageantry of armies with the grim reality of war: material splendor can mask, but not remove, the ethical weight and suffering that battle brings.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing the appearance of the battlefield, emphasizing how it looked magnificent due to the richly colored blankets and coverings on the elephants, creating an image of massive, mountain-like forms in motion.