Shloka 22

Devanagari script

अस्माकं च महाराज परेभ्यो बहवो जना: । योद्धव्यमिति तिष्ठन्तो निद्रासंरक्तलोचना:,महाराज! हमारे पक्षके भी बहुत-से सैनिक शत्रुओंके साथ युद्ध करना है, ऐसा समझकर खड़े थे, परंतु नींदसे उनकी आँखें लाल हो गयी थीं

Transliteration

asmākaṃ ca mahārāja parebhyo bahavo janāḥ | yoddhavyam iti tiṣṭhanto nidrā-saṃrakta-locanāḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „O König, viele von den Unsrigen standen ebenfalls bereit, überzeugt, sie müssten gegen den Feind kämpfen; doch ihre Augen waren vom Schlafmangel gerötet.“

Word by Word

अस्माकम्of us / our

चand

महाराजO great king

परेभ्यःfrom/than the others (enemies)

बहवःmany

जनाःpeople / men / soldiers

योद्धव्यम्must be fought / fighting is to be done

इतिthus

तिष्ठन्तःstanding

निद्रा-संरक्त-लोचनाःhaving eyes reddened by sleep

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Mahārāja (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

our soldiers (Kaurava side)

the enemy (Pāṇḍava side)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the tension between perceived duty to fight and the human limits of the body: even when soldiers stand resolved to do what they think must be done, exhaustion shows itself. It implicitly underscores the ethical cost of prolonged war—resolve persists, but vitality and clarity are eroded.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that many on the Kaurava side remained standing in readiness to fight the enemy, but they were visibly worn out—so sleepless that their eyes were bloodshot.