Mahabharata 7.115.166 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 115, Shloka 166

धृतराष्ट्र-संजय-संवादः — सात्यकि-अलम्बुसयोर्युद्धवर्णनम्

Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Saṃjaya Dialogue; Account of Sātyaki vs Alambusa

Devanagari script

पतितैर्ऋषभाक्षाणां सा बभावति मेदिनी । वृषभके समान बड़े-बड़े नेत्रोंवाले वीरोंके सीरे हुए मनोहर कुण्डलमण्डित चन्द्रमा-जैसे मुखोंसे वहाँकी भूमि अत्यन्त शोभा पा रही थी

Transliteration

patitair ṛṣabhākṣāṇāṃ sā babhāvati medinī | vṛṣabhake samāna baṛe-baṛe netroṃvāle vīroṃke sīre hue manohara kuṇḍalamaṇḍita candramā-jaise mukhoṃse vahāṃkī bhūmi atyanta śobhā pā rahī thī |

Translation

قال سَنجايا: لقد أضحت الأرض متلألئة، وقد تناثرت عليها جثث الأبطال الساقطين، وعيونهم كعيون الثيران الجسورة. وكانت الرؤوس المقطوعة—مزدانة بأقراطٍ بهية ووجوهٍ كالقمر—تجعل تراب ساحة القتال يبدو على نحوٍ غريبٍ باذخًا، كاشفًا مفارقة الحرب الأخلاقية القاتمة: فالجمال والبأس الظاهران يغدوان بلا معنى حين ينهار الدَّرْمَا إلى مذابح.

Word by Word

• पतितैः: by/with the fallen
• पतितैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पतित
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• ऋषभाक्षाणाम्: of bull-eyed (large-eyed) ones
• ऋषभाक्षाणाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋषभाक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• सा: she/that (land)
• सा: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• बभाव: became / came to be
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular

• अति: exceedingly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अति

• मेदिनी: the earth/ground
• मेदिनी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेदिनी
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• मेदिनी/भूमि (the earth, battlefield ground)
• वीर (fallen heroes/warriors)
• कुण्डल (earrings)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical paradox of war: even when the fallen appear outwardly splendid, the scene is fundamentally a testimony to destruction and the fragility of human glory. It invites reflection on dharma—how violence, once unleashed, turns honor and beauty into hollow remnants.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield after intense fighting in Droṇa Parva: the ground is covered with fallen warriors, and even their severed, ornamented heads are depicted with poetic beauty, emphasizing the scale and horror of the carnage.