Mahabharata 7.72.1 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 72, Shloka 1

धृष्टद्युम्नस्य द्रोणरथारोহণं सात्यकेः प्रतिरक्षणं च | Dhrishtadyumna Boards Droṇa’s Chariot; Sātyaki’s Counter-Protection

Devanagari script

अकाल (प्रतिज्ञापर्व) द्विसप्ततितमो< ध्याय: अभिमन्युकी मृत्युके कारण अर्जुनका विषाद और क्रोध (धृतराष्ट्र वाच अथ संशप्तकै: सार्ध युध्यमाने धनंजये । अभिमनयौ हते चापि बाले बलवतां वरे ।।

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

tasminn ahani nirvṛtte ghore prāṇabhṛtāṃ kṣaye |

āditye 'staṃ gate śrīmān sandhyākāla upasthite ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Als jener schreckliche Tag—gekennzeichnet durch das Verderben der Lebenden—zu Ende ging, als die Sonne sank und die Stunde der Dämmerung heraufkam, wandte sich der Lauf der Dinge vom offenen Gemetzel hin zu der düsteren Abrechnung, die dem Schlachtende folgt.

Word by Word

• तस्मिन्: in that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Singular

• अहनि: on the day
• अहनि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहन्
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• निर्वृत्ते: having ended / when ended
• निर्वृत्ते: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्वृत्त (नि√वृत्)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• घोरे: terrible
• घोरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• प्राणभृताम्: of living beings
• प्राणभृताम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राणभृत्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• क्षये: in the destruction
• क्षये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षय
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• आदित्ये: when the sun
• आदित्ये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आदित्य
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• अस्तम्: to setting (place) / to the west
• अस्तम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्त
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• गते: having gone
• गते: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गत (√गम्)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• श्रीमान्: glorious / illustrious
• श्रीमान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्रीमत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• संध्याकालः: evening time
• संध्याकालः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: संध्याकाल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उपस्थिते: having arrived / present
• उपस्थिते: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उपस्थित (उप√स्था)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Āditya (the Sun)
• sandhyā (twilight time)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the moral weight of war by framing the day as a ‘destruction of living beings’ and then marking sunset as a natural boundary where action pauses and consequences—grief, reflection, and accountability—begin to surface.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya sets the scene immediately after a horrific day of fighting: the sun has set and twilight has come. This signals a shift from battlefield action to the evening developments that follow—especially the emotional and strategic reactions to the day’s losses.