Shloka 72

युधिष्ठिरस्य धनंजय-प्रति गर्हा

Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproach to Dhanaṃjaya

Devanagari script

छिन्नभिन्नविपर्यस्तैर्व्मालड्कार भूषणै:

Transliteration

chinnabhinna-viparyastair mālālaṅkāra-bhūṣaṇaiḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: With garlands, ornaments, and adornments shattered, torn apart, and thrown into disarray, the scene bore the grim marks of battle—where once-signifying emblems of honor and identity became scattered remnants amid violence.

Word by Word

• छिन्न: cut, severed
• छिन्न: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: छिन्न (√छिद्)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (context-dependent), Instrumental, Plural

• भिन्न: broken, split
• भिन्न: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भिन्न (√भिद्)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (context-dependent), Instrumental, Plural

• विपर्यस्तैः: overturned, disordered
• विपर्यस्तैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विपर्यस्त (वि+परि+√अस्/√स्था; past passive participle sense 'overturned')
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (context-dependent), Instrumental, Plural

• मालाङ्कार: garlands and ornaments
• मालाङ्कार: Karana
• Type: Noun (compound member used adjectivally)
• Root: माला + अङ्कार/आङ्कार (ornamentation; here as first member)
• Form: Masculine (as compound stem), Instrumental, Plural

• भूषणैः: with ornaments/adornments
• भूषणैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूषण
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• माला (garlands)
• अलङ्कार (ornaments)
• भूषण (jewelry/adornments)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the fragility of worldly splendor: garlands and ornaments—symbols of status and celebration—are easily reduced to debris in war, reminding the listener that external marks of honor are impermanent when adharma and violence prevail.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield aftermath or ongoing carnage: warriors’ garlands and jewelry are cut, broken, and scattered, conveying the intensity of combat and the disorder produced by weapons and falling bodies.