Shloka 8

अश्वमेधीयस्य हयस्य दक्षिणापश्चिमगमनम् — The Sacrificial Horse’s Southern and Western Circuit

Devanagari script

वध्यमानेषु तेष्वाजौ गान्धारेषु समन्‍्तत:

Transliteration

vadhyamāneṣu teṣv ājau gāndhāreṣu samantataḥ

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: As those Gandhāra warriors were cut down in battle on every side, the field became a scene of relentless slaughter—war’s harsh momentum, where the duty of combat unfolds amid widespread suffering.

Word by Word

• वध्यमानेषु: while (they) were being slain
• वध्यमानेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वध्य (√वध् + य, ‘to be slain’) / वध्यमान (present passive participle of √वध्)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• तेषु: among them / in them
• तेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (pronoun)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• आजौ: in battle
• आजौ: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अज (battle, fight)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• गान्धारेषु: among the Gandhāras
• गान्धारेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गान्धार (Gandhāra; Gandhāran)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• समन्ततः: on all sides / all around
• समन्ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्ततः

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Gāndhāras
• battlefield (āja)