Shloka 76

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

Devanagari script

क्लृप्तश्मश्रुभिरत्यर्थ वीराणां समलंकृतै: । अपविद्धैर्महाराज सुवर्णोज्ज्वलकुण्डलै:

Transliteration

klṛptaśmaśrubhir atyarthaṁ vīrāṇāṁ samalaṅkṛtaiḥ | apaviddhair mahārāja suvarṇojjvalakuṇḍalaiḥ ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：“大王啊，那些勇士——髭须修整得极其齐整、装饰得分外华丽——其灿然的金耳环也被抛落，四散于地。此景昭示：曾为骄矜与身份之标记的外在勇武与饰物，在战阵严酷的真实面前尽成虚妄。”

Word by Word

• क्लृप्त: arranged, trimmed
• क्लृप्त: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्लृप् (धातु) → क्लृप्त (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुं, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• श्मश्रुभिः: with beards/moustaches
• श्मश्रुभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्मश्रु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुं, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• अत्यर्थम्: exceedingly, very much
• अत्यर्थम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्यर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)

• वीराणाम्: of the heroes/warriors
• वीराणाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• समलंकृतैः: well-adorned
• समलंकृतैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम् + अलंकृ (धातु) → समलंकृत (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुं, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• अपविद्धैः: cast off, thrown down
• अपविद्धैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अप + विध् (धातु) → अपविद्ध (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुं, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• महाराज: O great king
• महाराज: Sambodhana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• सुवर्णोज्ज्वलकुण्डलैः: with gold-bright earrings
• सुवर्णोज्ज्वलकुण्डलैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुवर्ण + उज्ज्वल + कुण्डल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुं, तृतीया, बहुवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'mahārāja')
• warriors (vīrāḥ)
• golden earrings (suvarṇojjvalakuṇḍala)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the fragility of external splendor—ornaments and cultivated signs of valor—when confronted with the destructive truth of war; it implicitly points to the impermanence of worldly status and the ethical gravity of conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes the battlefield aftermath to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: warriors who were once richly adorned are now seen with their shining golden earrings flung away, emphasizing the disarray and ruin brought by the fighting.