Shloka 39

आयोधनदर्शनम्

Viewing the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra

Devanagari script

क्रव्यादै: कृष्पमाणानामपरेषां महात्मनाम्‌ | शातकौम्भ्य: सत्रजनश्चित्रा विप्रकीर्णा: समन्ततः,“दूसरे महामनस्वी वीरोंको मांसाहारी जीव इधर-उधर खींच रहे हैं, जिससे सोनेकी बनी हुई उनकी विचित्र मालाएँ सब ओर बिखर गयी हैं

Transliteration

kravyādaiḥ kṛṣyamāṇānām apareṣāṃ mahātmanām | śātakaumbhyaḥ srajaś citrā viprakīrṇāḥ samantataḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Andere großgesinnte Krieger werden von fleischfressenden Kreaturen hin und her geschleift; und während man sie so zerrt, sind ihre wunderbaren, aus Gold gefertigten Girlanden nach allen Seiten verstreut worden.“

Word by Word

क्रव्यादैःby flesh-eaters (carnivorous creatures)

कृष्यमाणानाम्of (those) being dragged/pulled

अपरेषाम्of others

महात्मनाम्of great-souled (heroes)

शातकौम्भ्यःgolden (made of gold)

स्रजःgarlands

चित्राःvariegated/ornate, wondrous

विप्रकीर्णाःscattered, strewn about

समन्ततःon all sides, all around

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

kravyāda (flesh-eating scavengers)

golden garlands (śātakaumbhya srajaḥ)

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 underscores the ethical and existential shock of war: even the ‘great-souled’ and honored warriors, once adorned with golden garlands, are reduced to bodies dragged by scavengers. It highlights impermanence and the moral cost of violence, inviting reflection on dharma and the consequences of conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Stree Parva’s lamentation setting after the Kurukṣetra war, the narrator describes the battlefield’s grim scene: carrion-eaters pull at the fallen heroes, and their ornate golden garlands are torn off and scattered everywhere.