Mahabharata 7.189.7 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 189, Shloka 7

Devanagari script

शड्खभेरीमृदड्नां कुञ्जराणां च गर्जताम्‌ । विस्फारितविकृष्टानां कार्मुकाणां च कूजताम्‌

Transliteration

śaṅkhabherīmṛdaṅgānāṃ kuñjarāṇāṃ ca garjatām | visphāritavikṛṣṭānāṃ kārmukāṇāṃ ca kūjatām

Translation

قال سنجيا: «ارتفع صليلُ الأصداف (الشَّنْخ)، ودويُّ الطبول الكبيرة والمِرْدَنْغا، وزئيرُ الفيلة؛ وارتفع كذلك رنينُ الأقواس وهي تُمدّ على اتساعها وتُشدّ إلى الوراء.»

Word by Word

• शङ्ख: of conches
• शङ्ख: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शङ्ख
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• भेरी: of kettle-drums
• भेरी: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भेरी
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Plural

• मृदङ्गानाम्: of drums (mṛdaṅgas)
• मृदङ्गानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मृदङ्ग
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• कुञ्जराणाम्: of elephants
• कुञ्जराणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुञ्जर
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

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

• गर्जताम्: of (those) roaring
• गर्जताम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: गर्ज्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural, शतृ (present active participle)

• विस्फारित: of (those) expanded / stretched open
• विस्फारित: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + स्फुर्
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural, क्त (past passive participle)

• विकृष्टानाम्: of (those) drawn back (pulled)
• विकृष्टानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + कृष्
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural, क्त (past passive participle)

• कार्मुकाणाम्: of bows
• कार्मुकाणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्मुक
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

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

• कूजताम्: of (those) sounding / twanging
• कूजताम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: कूज्
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural, शतृ (present active participle)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• conches (śaṅkha)
• war-drums (bherī)
• mṛdaṅga drums
• elephants (kuñjara)
• bows (kārmuka)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse does not state a direct moral injunction; it heightens the ethical gravity of war by foregrounding its sensory reality—martial instruments, roaring elephants, and drawn bows—reminding the listener that decisions in dharma-yuddha unfold amid fear, force, and irreversible consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield’s rising tumult: conches and drums are sounded, elephants roar, and bows—stretched and drawn—emit their sharp twang, signaling readiness and the imminent clash of forces in the Drona Parva sequence.