Shloka 107

Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout

Devanagari script

विस्नस्तयन्त्रकवचान्‌ मुक्तकेशान्‌ कृताञज्जलीन्‌

Transliteration

visrastayantrakavacān muktakeśān kṛtāñjalīn

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „(Man sah sie) mit gelockerten und wirr gewordenen Waffen und Rüstungen, mit offenem Haar und zum Flehen gefalteten Händen“ — ein Bild völliger Niederlage und Hilflosigkeit.

Word by Word

• विस्नस्त-यन्त्र-कवचान्: those whose armor and gear were loosened/disordered
• विस्नस्त-यन्त्र-कवचान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विस्नस्त (वि+स्नस्/स्नस्त) + यन्त्र + कवच
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• मुक्त-केशान्: with hair let loose
• मुक्त-केशान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुक्त + केश
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• कृत-अञ्जलीन्: with hands joined in supplication (having made añjali)
• कृत-अञ्जलीन्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृत (कृ) + अञ्जलि
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how quickly the symbols of power—weapons and armour—can become meaningless when fear and moral disintegration overtake warriors; it foregrounds the ethical tension of war, where the defeated may be reduced to pleading, raising questions about mercy, restraint, and dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes people (implied groups of warriors or survivors) in a state of panic and vulnerability: their battle-gear is loosened, their hair is dishevelled, and they stand with folded hands, indicating surrender or desperate appeal in the grim events of the Sauptika episode.