Mahabharata 9.14.16 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 14, Shloka 16

Adhyāya 14: Śalya’s Missile-Pressure and the Pāṇḍava Convergence (शल्यस्य शरवर्षम्)

Devanagari script

भुजानां च महाभाग स्कन्धानां च समन्तत: । छत्राणां व्यजनै: सार्थ मुकुटानां च राशय:

Transliteration

bhujānāṁ ca mahābhāga skandhānāṁ ca samantataḥ | chatrāṇāṁ vyajanaiḥ sārthaṁ mukuṭānāṁ ca rāśayaḥ ||

Translation

قال سنجيا: «أيها النبيل، كانت حولهم أكوامٌ من الأذرع والكتوف المقطوعة؛ وكذلك أكوامٌ من المظلات الملكية مع مراوح الذَّبّ (ذوات الذيل)، وأكوامٌ من التيجان الساقطة.»

Word by Word

• भुजानाम्: of arms
• भुजानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भुज
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

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

• महाभाग: O fortunate one / O noble one
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाभाग
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• स्कन्धानाम्: of shoulders
• स्कन्धानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्कन्ध
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

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

• समन्ततः: on all sides / all around
• समन्ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्ततः

• छत्राणाम्: of umbrellas
• छत्राणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: छत्र
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• व्यजनैः: with fans (chowries)
• व्यजनैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यजन
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• सार्थम्: together with
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सार्थम्

• मुकुटानाम्: of crowns
• मुकुटानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुकुट
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

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

• राशयः: heaps / piles
• राशयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राशि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• royal umbrellas (chatra)
• fly-whisks (vyajana)
• crowns/diadems (mukuṭa)
• arms (bhuja)
• shoulders (skandha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the impermanence of worldly power: crowns, umbrellas, and fly-whisks—symbols of kingship—lie scattered like debris, reminding that status and sovereignty collapse before the reality of death and the consequences of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene in vivid detail, noting piles of severed limbs and the fallen emblems of royalty (umbrellas, fly-whisks, crowns), conveying the scale of destruction and the leveling of kings and warriors alike.