Shloka 56

Śaineya’s Breakthrough and Reunion with Arjuna (शैनेयस्य समागमः)

Devanagari script

तस्मादवस्थितो भूत्वा ज्ञात्वा लोकस्य निर्णयम्‌ । शृणु युद्ध यथावृत्तं घोरं देवासुरोपमम्‌,इसलिये स्थिर होकर और लोकके नियत स्वभावको जानकर देवासुर-संग्रामके समान भयंकर इस कौरव-पाण्डव-युद्धका यथार्थ वृत्तान्त सुनिये

Transliteration

tasmād avasthito bhūtvā jñātvā lokasya nirṇayam | śṛṇu yuddhaṃ yathāvṛttaṃ ghoraṃ devāsuropamam ||

Translation

Therefore, steady yourself; having understood the settled course of the world, listen to the true account of this war as it unfolded—terrible, like the battle between gods and demons.

Word by Word

तस्मात्therefore/from that

अवस्थितःsteadfast/standing firm

भूत्वाhaving become

ज्ञात्वाhaving known

लोकस्यof the world/people

निर्णयम्decision/settled conclusion

शृणुhear/listen

युद्धम्the battle/war

यथा-वृत्तम्as it happened/true account

घोरम्terrible

देव-असुर-उपमम्like (the battle of) gods and asuras

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Devas

Asuras

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

What is the core teaching?

The listener should cultivate steadiness and clear-eyed understanding of the world’s determined course before hearing accounts of extreme violence; only then can one grasp the ethical gravity of war without being overwhelmed by grief, anger, or partiality.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya prepares the hearer (implicitly Dhritarashtra) to receive an accurate report of the battle’s events, emphasizing that the conflict is so dreadful it resembles the mythic deva–asura wars, thereby heightening the sense of scale and consequence.