Shloka 67

Duryodhana’s Śaraṇāgati and the Pāṇḍavas’ Resolve

Gandharva Encounter

Devanagari script

अपतदू दग्धभूयिष्ठं महाद्रुमवनं यथा । जैसे आग समूचे वनको जला देती है, उसी प्रकार असुरोंने देवताओंकी सेनामें भारी मार-काट मचा दी। बड़े-बड़े वृक्षोंसे भरे हुए वनका अधिकांश भाग जल जानेपर उसकी जैसी दुरवस्था दिखायी देती है, उसी प्रकार दैत्योंकी अस्त्राग्निमें अधिकांश सैनिकोंके दग्ध हो जानेके कारण वह देवसेना धराशायिनी हो रही थी ।। ते विभिन्नशिरोदेहा: प्राद्रवन्तो दिवौकस:

Transliteration

Mārkaṇḍeya uvāca — apatadū dagdhabhūyiṣṭhaṃ mahādrumavanaṃ yathā | te vibhinnāśirodehāḥ prādravanto divaukasaḥ ||

Translation

Mārkaṇḍeya sprach: „Wie ein großer Wald voller mächtiger Bäume, der, wenn er zum größten Teil verbrannt ist, in Verwüstung zusammenbricht, so geriet auch das Heer der Götter in Auflösung—denn viele Krieger waren vom Waffenfeuer der Daityas versengt. Und jene Himmelswesen, deren Köpfe und Leiber abgetrennt waren, flohen in panischem Schrecken.“

Word by Word

अपतत्fell down

दग्धभूयिष्ठम्mostly burnt / burnt for the most part

महाद्रुमवनम्a forest of great trees

यथाas / just as

तेthey

विभिन्नशिरोदेहाःhaving severed heads and bodies / with heads and bodies separated

प्राद्रवन्तःrunning forth / fleeing

दिवौकसःthe dwellers of heaven (gods)

Speaker

मार्कण्डेय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mārkaṇḍeya

Divaukasaḥ (the gods/celestials)

Asuras/Daityas (demons, implied as attackers)

Mahādrumavana (great forest, as simile)

Astra-agni (weapon-fire, implied)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the fragility of even mighty forces: when violence and destructive power dominate, armies and worldly strength can collapse as swiftly as a forest consumed by fire—prompting reflection on the ethical cost and instability inherent in war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mārkaṇḍeya describes a battlefield scene where the gods’ army is devastated by the demons’ fiery weapons; many are slain and dismembered, and the surviving celestials flee in terror, likened to a great forest ruined after being mostly burned.