Shloka 30

Devanagari script

ट्रमाणां शिखराणीव दावदग्धानि मारिष | अश्वव्‌न्दान्यदृश्यन्त रथवृन्दानि भारत

Transliteration

drumāṇāṃ śikharāṇīva dāvadagdhāni māriṣa | aśvavṛndāny adṛśyanta rathavṛndāni bhārata ||

Translation

قال سَنجايا: «يا أيها النبيل، يا بهاراتا، بدت جموعُ العربات وقطعانُ الخيل كأنها قممُ جبالٍ قد أحرقتها نارُ الغابة—مسوَّدةً، مكسَّرةً، وقد سُلِبت بهاءَها القديم.»

Word by Word

द्रुमाणाम्of trees

शिखराणिpeaks/tops

इवlike/as

दावदग्धानिburnt by a forest-fire

मारिषO noble one/sir

अश्ववृन्दानिgroups of horses

अदृश्यन्तwere seen/appeared

रथवृन्दानिgroups of chariots

भारतO Bhārata

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra as addressee)

aśvavṛnda (groups of horses)

rathavṛnda (groups of chariots)

dāva (forest-fire)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the fragility of martial glory: even the proud instruments of power—chariots and horses—can be reduced to charred remnants. It evokes a moral reflection on the cost of war and the impermanence of worldly strength.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the दृश्य (scene) of the battlefield: masses of chariots and horses appear blackened and devastated, compared to treetops scorched by a raging forest-fire, conveying the scale of ruin after intense fighting.