Shloka 156

Devanagari script

अर्धरात्रि: समाजज्ञे निद्रान्धानां विशेषत: । वहाँ बाणोंकी चोट सहते और विशेषत: क्षत-विक्षत होते हुए निद्रान्ध सैनिकोंकी आधी रात बीत गयी

Transliteration

ardharātriḥ samājajñe nidrāndhānāṁ viśeṣataḥ |

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: In der Tiefe der Mitternacht — wenn Menschen am wenigsten wachsam sind — verging die Zeit für jene Soldaten, die vom Schlaf geblendet die Schläge der Pfeile ertrugen und schwer verwundet wurden.

Word by Word

• अर्धरात्रिः: midnight; half of the night
• अर्धरात्रिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्धरात्रि
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• समाजज्ञे: passed; went by
• Type: Verb
• Root: समाज्ञा
• Form: Perfect (Paroksha-bhuta), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• निद्रान्धानाम्: of those blinded by sleep; of sleep-dazed (men)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निद्रान्ध
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• विशेषतः: especially; particularly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: विशेषतः

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• soldiers (sleep-blinded)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral tension of warfare: when violence continues even against sleep-dazed, defenseless soldiers, it raises questions of restraint (dharma-yuddha) versus expediency, and shows how war erodes ordinary ethical boundaries.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the passage of midnight during a violent episode in which soldiers, overcome by sleep, are struck by arrows and become badly wounded—emphasizing the vulnerability of the camp at night and the brutality of the assault.