Shloka 18

धृतराष्ट्रविलापः — Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Lament and Inquiry (Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 2)

Devanagari script

म्लेच्छाक्ष शतसाहसत्रा: शकाश्न यवनै: सह । सुदक्षिणश्न काम्बोजस्त्रिगर्ताधिपतिस्तथा

Transliteration

mlecchākṣaśatasāhastrāḥ śakāś ca yavanaiḥ saha | sudakṣiṇaś ca kāmbojas trigartādhipatis tathā ||

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra sprach: „Hunderttausende Mlecchas waren da; und die Śakas zusammen mit den Yavanas; dazu die Kāmbojas aus dem Süden und ebenso der Herr der Trigartas.“

Word by Word

म्लेच्छाःMlecchas (foreign/unclean tribes)

शतसाहस्राःnumbering a hundred thousand

शकाःthe Sakas (Scythians)

चand

यवनैःwith/by the Yavanas (Greeks/Ionians)

सहtogether with

सुदक्षिणःSudakṣiṇa (proper name)

चand

काम्बोजःthe Kāmboja (king/people)

त्रिगर्ताधिपतिःthe lord of the Trigartas

तथाlikewise/also

Speaker

धघतयाट्र उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Mlecchas

Śakas

Yavanas

Kāmbojas

Trigarta (people/region)

Trigartādhipati (ruler of Trigarta)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse conveys the immense breadth of the war’s mobilization: many peoples and rulers, including frontier groups, are drawn into the conflict. Ethically, it heightens the sense of collective responsibility and the tragic, far-reaching consequences of adharma-driven rivalry.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra is recounting the composition and magnitude of the forces involved, listing various groups—Mlecchas, Śakas, Yavanas, Kāmbojas, and the ruler of Trigarta—who are present as part of the war’s assembled hosts.