Mahabharata 7.49.30 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 49, Shloka 30

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 49: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament and Strategic Foreboding after Abhimanyu’s Fall

Devanagari script

पृथिव्यामनुकीर्णैश्न व्यश्वसारथियोधिभि: । हृदैरिव प्रक्षुभितैर्हतनागै रथोत्तमै:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

pr̥thivyām anukīrṇaiś ca vy-aśva-sārathi-yodhibhiḥ |

hr̥dair iva prakṣubhitair hata-nāgai rathottamaiḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Die Erde war übersät mit den besten Streitwagen und mit erschlagenen Elefanten—Wagen, die nun ohne Pferde, Lenker und Krieger dastanden—sodass das Schlachtfeld wie aufgewühlte Seen erschien. Die großen Elefanten, mitten unter Treibhaken, Rüstungen, Waffen und Bannern gefällt, lagen zerschmettert wie Berge. Da auch Scharen von Fußsoldaten niedergemacht waren, wurde der Boden überaus schrecklich und erweckte Furcht in den Herzen der Zaghaften. Das Bild betont die moralische Last des Krieges: Tapferkeit und Können enden in Verderben, und das Feld selbst wird zum Zeugnis des Leidens, wenn Dharma durch Gewalt bestritten wird.

Word by Word

• पृथिव्याम्: on the earth
• पृथिव्याम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• अनुकीर्णैः: strewn/scattered (with)
• अनुकीर्णैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनुकीर्ण
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• व्यश्वसारथियोधिभिः: with horses, charioteers, and warriors
• व्यश्वसारथियोधिभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व + सारथि + योध
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• हृदैः: with hearts
• हृदैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: हृद्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• इव: as if/like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• प्रक्षुभितैः: agitated/churned
• प्रक्षुभितैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रक्षुभित
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• हतनागैः: with slain elephants
• हतनागैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: हत + नाग
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• रथोत्तमैः: with excellent chariots
• रथोत्तमैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ + उत्तम
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• earth (pr̥thivī)
• chariots (ratha)
• horses (aśva)
• charioteers (sārathi)
• warriors (yodhin)
• lakes/ponds (hrada)
• elephants (nāga)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical gravity of war: even the greatest instruments of power—elephants and superb chariots—end as wreckage, turning the earth into a fearful witness. It implicitly warns that violence, even when pursued for victory, produces pervasive suffering and terror, challenging the stability of dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield after intense fighting: the ground is littered with broken chariots lacking horses, charioteers, and fighters, and with elephants slain amid their martial equipment. The devastation is so extreme that the land appears like churned lakes and becomes terrifying to behold.