Shloka 37

आयोधनदर्शनम्

Viewing the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra

Devanagari script

अपरे पुनरालिड्ग्य गदा: परिघबाहव: । शेरतेडभिमुखा: शूरा दयिता इव योषित:,“परिघके समान मोटी बाँहोंवाले दूसरे शूरवीर प्रेयसी युवतियोंकी भाँति गदाओंका आलिंगन करके सम्मुख सो रहे हैं

Transliteration

apare punarāliṅgya gadāḥ parighabāhavaḥ | śerate ’bhimukhāḥ śūrā dayitā iva yoṣitaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Andere wiederum — Helden mit Armen, dick wie eiserne Knüppel — liegen nach vorn gewandt und umklammern ihre Keulen in einer Umarmung, als wären es geliebte Frauen.“

Word by Word

अपरेothers

पुनःagain / moreover

आलिङ्ग्यhaving embraced

गदाःmaces

परिघबाहवःwhose arms are like iron bars (very thick-armed)

शेरतेlie / sleep

अभिमुखाःfacing (towards)

शूराःheroes / warriors

दयिताःbeloved

इवlike / as if

योषितःwomen

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

gadā (mace)

parigha (iron bar/club)

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 highlights the tragic intimacy between a warrior and his weapon: in the devastation of war, affection and identity become bound to instruments of violence. It invites ethical reflection on how battle reshapes human tenderness into attachment to killing tools, even while acknowledging steadfast valor.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the aftermath of the great slaughter, Vaiśampāyana describes fallen or exhausted heroes lying on the field. Some are shown still clasping their maces, facing forward, as if embracing beloved women—an image that intensifies the pathos of the battlefield scene.