Shloka 74

Devanagari script

निर्मनुष्यान्‌ रथान्‌ राजन्‌ सुयुक्ताञ्जवनैहयै: । वातायमानानद्राक्षं द्वियमाणान्‌ विशाम्पते

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | nirmanuṣyān rathān rājan suyuktāñ javanaiḥ hayaiḥ | vātāyamānān adrākṣaṃ dvyamāṇān viśāmpate ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: O King, I saw many chariots with no men in them, well-yoked with swift horses. Driven about as if by the wind, they were being dragged and whirled in different directions, O lord of the people—an ominous sight revealing the chaos and terror that war unleashes when order and human control collapse.

Word by Word

• निर्मनुष्यान्: without men, unmanned
• निर्मनुष्यान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्मनुष्य
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• रथान्: chariots
• रथान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• सुयुक्तान्: well-yoked, properly harnessed
• सुयुक्तान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुयुक्त
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• जवनैः: with swift (ones)
• जवनैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जवन
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• हयैः: horses
• हयैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: हय
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• वातायमानान्: moving like the wind, wind-swift
• वातायमानान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वातायमान
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• अद्राक्षम्: I saw
• अद्राक्षम्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Aorist (Luṅ), 1st, Singular, Parasmaipada

• द्वियमाणान्: being dragged/pulled about (hither and thither)
• द्वियमाणान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वि + यम् (द्वियम्)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• विशाम्: of the people/subjects
• विशाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विश्
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Plural

• पते: O lord
• पते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पति
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'rājan', 'viśāmpate')
• chariots (ratha)
• horses (haya)
• wind (vāta)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how war destroys human order: even instruments of power like chariots become uncontrolled, suggesting that violence breeds chaos and suffering beyond anyone’s command.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the king that he witnessed unmanned chariots, still yoked to fast horses, rushing about like the wind and being dragged in various directions—an ominous battlefield spectacle.