Shloka 8

आयोधनदर्शनम्

Viewing the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra

Devanagari script

रक्षसां पुरुषादानां मोदनं कुरराकुलम्‌ । अशिवाभि: शिवाभिश्च नादितं गृभ्रसेवितम्‌

Transliteration

rakṣasāṃ puruṣādānāṃ modanaṃ kurarākulam | aśivābhiḥ śivābhiś ca nāditaṃ gṛdhrasevitam ||

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana sprach: „Es war ein Ort der Wonne für menschenfressende Rākṣasas, erfüllt vom Geschrei der kurarī-Vögel; er dröhnte von unheilvollen, drohenden Lauten und wurde von Geiern heimgesucht.“

Word by Word

• रक्षसाम्: of the rākṣasas
• रक्षसाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रक्षस्
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• पुरुषादानाम्: of man-eaters
• पुरुषादानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुषाद
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• मोदनम्: delight, rejoicing
• मोदनम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मोदन
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• कुरराकुलम्: filled with ospreys (kuraras)
• कुरराकुलम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कुरराकुल
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अशिवाभिः: by inauspicious (female jackals/omens)
• अशिवाभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अशिवा
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Plural

• शिवाभिः: by jackals (śivā)
• शिवाभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिवा
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• नादितम्: resounded
• नादितम्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: नद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular, Past passive participle (क्त)

• गृभ्रसेवितम्: frequented by vultures
• गृभ्रसेवितम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गृध्रसेवित
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular, Past passive participle (क्त)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• rākṣasas
• puruṣādāḥ (man-eaters)
• kurarī (bird)
• gṛdhra (vulture)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the moral horror of war’s aftermath: when dharma collapses into mass violence, the landscape becomes fit for scavengers and predatory beings, marked by ominous signs—an ethical reminder of the human cost of adharma and slaughter.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana describes a grim scene in the wake of the Kurukṣetra carnage: a desolate, ill-omened place filled with harsh bird-cries and vultures, imagined as a haunt and delight of man-eating rākṣasas.