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Shloka 73

दुःशासन-सहदेव-संक्षोभः; भीम-राधेय-गदायुद्धम्; द्रोण-पार्थ-अस्त्रसंग्रामः

Duhshasana–Sahadeva Clash; Bhima–Karna Mace Exchange; Drona–Arjuna Astra Duel

रराज वसुधा55कीर्णा विसर्पद्धिरिवोरगै: । हाथियोंके शुण्डदण्ड कटकर इधर-उधर तड़पते हुए ऐसे प्रतीत हो रहे थे, मानो सर्प चल रहे हों। उनके द्वारा आच्छादित हुई वहाँकी भूमि अद्भुत शोभा पा रही थी

rarāja vasudhā kīrṇā visarpadbhir ivoragaiḥ |

قال سنجيا: أشرقت الأرضُ إشراقًا عجيبًا، وقد تناثرت عليها في كل موضع خراطيمُ الفيلة المقطوعة. وكانت تلتوي وتنتشر في كل اتجاه، فتبدو كأنها أفاعٍ تزحف—مشهدٌ مهيبٌ لكنه مُفزع—يُبرز الكلفة الوحشية للحرب والثقل الأخلاقي الذي يحمله من يخوضها.

रराजshone, was resplendent
रराज:
Karta
TypeVerb
Rootराज् (धातु)
Formलिट् (परोक्षभूत/परफेक्ट), प्रथम, एकवचन, परस्मैपद
वसुधाthe earth, ground
वसुधा:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootवसुधा (प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन
कीर्णाstrewn, covered (with)
कीर्णा:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootकीर्ण (कृदन्त; √कॄ/किर् ‘to scatter, strew’)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन
विसर्पद्भिःby/with creeping (ones)
विसर्पद्भिः:
Karana
TypeAdjective
Rootविसर्पत् (कृदन्त; √सृप् ‘to creep’ with वि-)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन
इवas if, like
इव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootइव
उरगैःby/with serpents
उरगैः:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootउरग (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

संयज उवाच

S
Sañjaya
E
earth (vasudhā)
E
elephants
E
elephant trunks (śuṇḍā-daṇḍa)
S
serpents (uraga)

Educational Q&A

The verse uses a vivid simile—severed elephant-trunks resembling crawling serpents—to highlight the horrifying reality of battle. It implicitly presses an ethical reflection: even when war is framed as dharma-yuddha, its visible fruits are suffering and destruction, demanding moral seriousness and restraint.

Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene: the ground is covered with cut-off elephant trunks that twitch and writhe, making the earth appear strangely ‘beautiful’ in a terrible way, like it is filled with moving snakes.