Shloka 27

Devanagari script

प्रच्छन्नरूपां रुधिरेण राजन्‌ रौद्रे मुहूर्तेशतिविराजमाने । नैवावतस्थु: कुरव: समीक्ष्य प्रत्राजिता देवलोकाय सर्वे

Transliteration

pracchannarūpāṁ rudhireṇa rājan raudre muhūrte śatirājamāne | naivāvatasthuḥ kuravaḥ samīkṣya pratrājitā devalokāya sarve ||

Translation

O König, in jener schrecklichen Dämmerstunde—als die Gestalt des Schlachtfeldes vom Blut verhüllt war und der Augenblick vor Grauen loderte—konnten die Kuru-Krieger, als sie es erblickten, nicht standhalten. Alle, in Bestürzung vertrieben, wandten sich ab, als zögen sie auf die Reise in die Welt der Götter.

Word by Word

• {'pracchanna-rūpām': 'whose appearance was hidden/covered', 'rudhireṇa': 'by blood', 'rājan': 'O king', 'raudre': 'terrible, fierce, dreadful', 'muhūrte': 'at the moment

• in the time-period (muhūrta)', 'śati-virājamāne': 'shining forth intensely

• blazing with dreadful brilliance (reading as an intensifier of virājamāna)', 'na eva': 'not at all', 'avatasthuḥ': 'they stood

• they remained (perfect/preterite of √sthā with ava-)', 'kuravaḥ': 'the Kurus

• Kuru warriors', 'samīkṣya': 'having seen

• upon observing', 'pratrājitāḥ': 'driven away

• routed', 'devalokāya': 'to the world of the gods (heaven)', 'sarve': 'all'}

Speaker

शल्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śalya
• rājan (the king addressed, i.e., Dhṛtarāṣṭra in context)
• Kuravaḥ (Kuru warriors)
• devaloka (world of the gods)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how war’s horror can overwhelm even seasoned warriors: when violence reaches a peak—symbolized by the earth ‘hidden by blood’—courage collapses and men turn toward death (devaloka) rather than duty. It implicitly questions the ethical cost of relentless slaughter and the fragility of resolve when adharma-like devastation dominates perception.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śalya describes a moment in the battle at dreadful twilight when the ground is so drenched in blood that its appearance is obscured. Seeing this terrifying scene, the Kuru soldiers cannot hold their position and are driven back, as though departing for heaven—i.e., toward death or defeat.