Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 44

रणभूमिवर्णनम् — Devāsuropama-yuddha and the ‘River’ Metaphor of the Battlefield

Devanagari script

इमे ते च बलौघेन परस्परवधैषिण:

Transliteration

ime te ca balaughena parasparavadhaiṣiṇaḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: “These forces of yours, gathered in great masses of troops, are intent on mutual slaughter—each side seeking the other’s destruction.”

Word by Word

• इमे: these
• इमे: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ते: of you / your
• ते: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Singular

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

• बलौघेन: by/with the mass (host) of troops
• बलौघेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बलौघ
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• परस्परवधैषिणः: seeking each other's slaughter
• परस्परवधैषिणः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परस्पर-वध-एषिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• your forces (addressed party, i.e., Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s side in context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the moral tragedy of war: once armies are assembled with the intent to kill, conflict becomes reciprocal and self-consuming—highlighting how hatred and vengeance turn into mutual destruction rather than righteous protection.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra about the assembled forces, emphasizing that the opposing hosts are locked in a mindset of reciprocal killing, each seeking the other’s death as the battle intensifies.