Shloka 37

Devanagari script

अनीकं समवेतानां धूम्रवर्णमुदीर्यते

Transliteration

anīkaṃ samavetānāṃ dhūmravarṇam udīryate

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Aus den dicht geschlossenen Reihen der versammelten Krieger stieg eine rauchfarbene Wolke empor—ein unheilvolles Zeichen, das die sich ballende Wut der Schlacht und die moralische Finsternis kündet, die der Krieg unweigerlich aufwühlt.

Word by Word

• अनीकम्: army/host, troop-formation
• अनीकम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनीक
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• समवेतानाम्: of the assembled (ones)
• समवेतानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समवेत (सम् + अवि + इ/ए; past passive participle of √इ 'to go', in the sense 'assembled')
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• धूम्रवर्णम्: smoke-colored, greyish
• धूम्रवर्णम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धूम्रवर्ण
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• उदीर्यते: arises/is produced
• उदीर्यते: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद् + √ईर् (ईर्/ईरय्) / √ईर् (to rise, be produced, be uttered)
• Form: Present, Atmanepada (Passive sense), Third, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• anīka (army/battle formation)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even when warriors assemble with resolve, war generates a figurative and literal ‘smoke’—confusion, fear, and moral obscuration—reminding the listener that violence clouds discernment and burdens dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a visible phenomenon arising from the gathered battle formations: a smoke-grey mass (dust/smoke-like haze) rising from the assembled troops, heightening the sense of impending combat and foreboding.