Shloka 34

भीष्मवधाय प्रयाणम् — The Advance toward Bhīṣma and Counter-Engagements

Devanagari script

निहतैर्मत्तमातज्ैः शोणितौघपरिप्लुतै: । भूर्भाति भरतश्रेष्ठ पर्वतैराचिता यथा,भरतश्रेष्ठ) मरकर गिरे हुए मतवाले हाथी खूनसे लथपथ हो रहे थे। उनसे ढकी हुई वहाँकी भूमि पर्वतोंसे व्याप्त-सी जान पड़ती थी

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

nihatāir mattamātangaiḥ śoṇitaughapariplutaiḥ |

bhūrbhāti bharataśreṣṭha parvatair ācitā yathā ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: O best of the Bharatas, the earth—covered with fallen, rut-maddened elephants and flooded with torrents of blood—appeared as though it were strewn with mountains. The image underscores the moral weight of war: even the mightiest beings become mere heaps upon the ground, and the battlefield’s grandeur is inseparable from its grievous cost.

Word by Word

निहतैःby the slain

मत्तमातङ्गैःby intoxicated elephants

शोणितौघपरिप्लुतैःby those flooded with streams of blood

भूःthe earth/ground

भातिshines/appears

भरतश्रेष्ठO best of the Bharatas

पर्वतैःwith mountains

आचिताcovered/strewn

यथाas/like

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'bharataśreṣṭha')

earth/battlefield (bhūḥ)

elephants (mātaṅga)

blood (śoṇita)

mountains (parvata)

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Geographic Context

Sandhi Notes