Shloka 38

Devanagari script

ततो&श्मवृष्टिरत्युग्रा महत्यासीत्‌ समन्तत:ः

Transliteration

tato 'śmavṛṣṭir atyugrā mahaty āsīt samantataḥ

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Dann erhob sich ringsum ein gewaltiger, überaus wilder Steinhagel — ein unheilvolles Anwachsen der Schlachtgewalt, als wende sich das Feld selbst gegen Maß und Menschlichkeit.

Word by Word

• ततः: then/thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (पञ्चमी-अर्थे: 'from/thereafter')

• अश्मवृष्टिः: a shower of stones
• अश्मवृष्टिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्मवृष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• अति-उग्रा: exceedingly fierce
• अति-उग्रा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उग्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• महती: great/huge
• महती: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• आसीत्: was/occurred
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• समन्ततः: on all sides
• समन्ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्ततः (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (अधिकरणार्थे: 'on all sides')

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• aśmavṛṣṭi (shower of stones)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how war rapidly escalates beyond controlled combat into indiscriminate harm. Ethically, it underscores the erosion of restraint (maryādā) in conflict, where violence becomes pervasive and affects all sides, warning that adharma can spread like a storm once unleashed.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a massive, extremely fierce pelting of stones arose on all sides—either as a tactic used by combatants amid close-quarters chaos or as a portent-like description of the battlefield’s intensified turmoil.