Shloka 37
Devanagari script
अनीकं समवेतानां धूम्रवर्णमुदीर्यते
Transliteration
anīkaṃ samavetānāṃ dhūmravarṇam udīryate
Translation
Sañjaya said: From the massed ranks of the assembled warriors, a smoke-hued cloud rose up—an ominous sign of the battle’s gathering fury and the moral darkness that war inevitably stirs.
Word by Word
अनीकम्army/host, troop-formation
अनीकम्:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootअनीक
FormNeuter, Nominative, Singular
समवेतानाम्of the assembled (ones)
समवेतानाम्:
Adhikarana
TypeAdjective
Rootसमवेत (सम् + अवि + इ/ए; past passive participle of √इ 'to go', in the sense 'assembled')
FormMasculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural
धूम्रवर्णम्smoke-colored, greyish
धूम्रवर्णम्:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootधूम्रवर्ण
FormNeuter, Nominative, Singular
उदीर्यतेarises/is produced
उदीर्यते:
Karma
TypeVerb
Rootउद् + √ईर् (ईर्/ईरय्) / √ईर् (to rise, be produced, be uttered)
FormPresent, Atmanepada (Passive sense), Third, Singular
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Characters & Entities
S
SañjayaA
anīka (army/battle formation)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Cross References
Meter (Chandas)
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
Even when warriors assemble with resolve, war generates a figurative and literal ‘smoke’—confusion, fear, and moral obscuration—reminding the listener that violence clouds discernment and burdens dharma.
Sañjaya describes a visible phenomenon arising from the gathered battle formations: a smoke-grey mass (dust/smoke-like haze) rising from the assembled troops, heightening the sense of impending combat and foreboding.