Shloka 853

सस्नुस्तस्यां पपुश्नास्यां मम्लुश्न भरतर्षभ । उन सबके शरीर रक्तसे रँग गये थे। कवच, आयुध और वस्त्र भी रक्तरंजित हो गये थे। भरतश्रेष्ठ कितने ही योद्धा उसमें नहा लेते, कितनोंके मुहमें रक्तकी घूँट चली जाती और कितने ही ग्लानिसे भर जाते थे

sa-snusta-stasyāṃ papuśnās-yāṃ mamluśna bharatarṣabha |

قال سنجيا: «يا ثورَ آلِ بهاراتا، لقد اغتسلوا في ذلك المجرى بل وشربوا منه؛ فتلطّخت أجسادهم بالدم. وصارت دروعهم وأسلحتهم وملابسهم قانيةً كذلك. كثيرٌ من المحاربين اغتسلوا هناك، وكثيرون ابتلعوا من غير قصدٍ جرعاتٍ من الدم، وكثيرون غلبهم الإعياء والدوار.»

सस्नुḥthey bathed
सस्नुḥ:
Karta
TypeVerb
Rootस्ना (धातु)
Formलिट् (परस्मैपद), 3, plural
तस्याम्in that (river/stream/pool)
तस्याम्:
Adhikarana
TypePronoun
Rootतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formfeminine, locative, singular
पपुḥthey drank
पपुḥ:
Karta
TypeVerb
Rootपा (धातु)
Formलिट् (परस्मैपद), 3, plural
अस्याम्in this (same place)
अस्याम्:
Adhikarana
TypePronoun
Rootइदम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
Formfeminine, locative, singular
मम्लुḥthey became weary/fainted
मम्लुḥ:
Karta
TypeVerb
Rootम्ला (धातु)
Formलिट् (परस्मैपद), 3, plural
भरतर्षभO bull among the Bharatas
भरतर्षभ:
TypeNoun (vocative epithet)
Rootभरत-ऋषभ (प्रातिपदिक)
Formmasculine, vocative, singular

संजय उवाच

संजय (Sañjaya)
भरतर्षभ (Bharatarṣabha—epithet of Dhṛtarāṣṭra)
योद्धा (warriors)
रक्त (blood)
कवच (armor)
आयुध (weapons)
वस्त्र (garments)

Educational Q&A

The verse underscores the ethical cost of war: even when fought under kṣatriya duty, battle produces pervasive suffering and moral shock—so intense that basic acts like bathing and drinking become entangled with blood and exhaustion, reminding the listener of the tragic consequences of adharma-driven conflict.

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the battlefield waters were so mixed with blood that warriors bathed in them and inadvertently drank blood; their bodies, armor, weapons, and clothes were stained red, and many fighters became weak and faint from fatigue.