Shloka 22

Adhyāya 140: Rātriyuddhe Droṇa-prāpti-prayatnaḥ

Night engagement and the attempt to reach Droṇa

Devanagari script

वलयैरपदिद्धैश्न तत्रैवाड्गुलिवेष्टकै: । चूडामणिभिरुष्णीषै: स्वर्णसूत्रैश्ष मारिष

Transliteration

valayair apadiddhaiś ca tatraivāṅguliveṣṭakaiḥ | cūḍāmaṇibhir uṣṇīṣaiḥ svarṇasūtraiś ca māriṣa ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O dear sir, the ground there itself was strewn with ornaments—bracelets and finger-rings cast off in the tumult, along with crest-jewels (cūḍāmaṇi), turbans (uṣṇīṣa), and golden threads.”

Word by Word

वलयैःwith bracelets/bangles

अपदिद्धैःfastened/secured (lit. fixed on)

नand/also (particle)

तत्रthere

एवindeed/just

अङ्गुलिवेष्टकैःwith finger-rings

चूडामणिभिःwith crest-jewels

उष्णीषैःwith turbans/head-dresses

स्वर्णसूत्रैःwith golden threads/strings

चand

मारिषO venerable one/sir

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

ornaments (bracelets, rings, crest-jewels, turbans, golden threads)

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 verse underscores the impermanence of worldly splendor: ornaments that signify rank and honor become scattered debris in war, hinting at the ethical cost of violence and the fragility of pride and possession.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra (addressed as māriṣa) that the battlefield area was littered with fallen ornaments—bracelets, rings, crest-jewels, turbans, and gold threads—evoking the intensity of the fighting and its immediate aftermath.