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Shloka 36

अध्याय १४८ — कर्णप्रभावः, धृष्टद्युम्नस्य विरथता, तथा घटोत्कच-आह्वानम्

Chapter 148: Karṇa’s Pressure, Dhṛṣṭadyumna Unhorsed, and the Summoning of Ghaṭotkaca

गृध्रोदग्रमहाग्राहां शिवाविरुतभैरवाम्‌ । नृत्यत्प्रेतपिशाचाद्यैर्भूताकीर्णा सहस्रश:

gṛdhrodagramahāgrāhāṃ śivāvirutabhairavām | nṛtyatpreta-piśācādyair bhūtākīrṇā sahasraśaḥ ||

Sañjaya sagte: „Es war ein grauenhafter Anblick—voll von Geiern und wilden Raubtieren, erschreckend durch das Heulen der Schakale, und zu Tausenden von Geistern und Kobolden erfüllt, als tanzten die Kräfte, die am Gemetzel Gefallen finden, über das Schlachtfeld.“

गृध्र-उदग्र-महा-ग्राहाम्having huge crocodiles (as if) with vultures towering (i.e., very formidable with great crocodiles)
गृध्र-उदग्र-महा-ग्राहाम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootगृध्र + उदग्र + महा + ग्राह (प्रातिपदिक)
FormFeminine, Accusative, Singular
शिवा-विरुत-भैरवाम्terrifying with the howling of jackals
शिवा-विरुत-भैरवाम्:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootशिवा + विरुत + भैरव (प्रातिपदिक)
FormFeminine, Accusative, Singular
नृत्यत्-प्रेत-पिशाच-आद्यैःby dancing pretas, piśācas, and the like
नृत्यत्-प्रेत-पिशाच-आद्यैः:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootनृत्यत् (कृदन्त, √नृत्) + प्रेत + पिशाच + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural
भूत-आकीर्णाfilled with beings/spirits
भूत-आकीर्णा:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootभूत + आकीर्ण (कृदन्त, √कॄ/कीर् with आ-; 'strewn/filled')
FormFeminine, Nominative, Singular
सहस्रशःin thousands; by the thousand
सहस्रशः:
Adhikarana
TypeIndeclinable
Rootसहस्रशस् (अव्यय)
Formtrue

संजय उवाच

S
Sañjaya
V
vultures (gṛdhra)
J
jackals (śivā)
P
pretas
P
piśācas
B
bhūtas

Educational Q&A

The verse underscores the moral and existential cost of war: when violence dominates, the battlefield becomes a haunt of death and inauspicious forces, reminding listeners of impermanence and the ethical degradation that accompanies slaughter.

Sañjaya describes the battlefield atmosphere as terrifying—swarming with vultures and predators, echoing with jackal howls, and imagined as crowded with ghosts and goblins—an ominous portrayal of the carnage surrounding the ongoing combat.