Shloka 5

Adhyāya 143: Nocturnal duels—Nākuli and Citraseṇa; Vṛṣasena’s assault; Duḥśāsana vs Prativindhya

Devanagari script

सम्प्राप्प भारतीमध्यं तलघोषसमाकुलम्‌ । असिशक्तिगदापूर्णमप्लवं सलिलं यथा

Transliteration

samprāpya bhāratī-madhyaṁ talaghoṣa-samākulam | asi-śakti-gadā-pūrṇam aplavaṁ salilaṁ yathā

Translation

Sañjaya said: Having entered the very midst of the Bharata host—thick with the thunder of clapping palms and battle-cries—he found it packed with swords, spears, and maces, like a flood of water with no raft and no ford. The image lays bare war’s moral peril: once plunged into its center, it becomes a hard-to-cross current where survival depends on steadiness, skill, and resolve grounded in dharma, not on brute force alone.

Word by Word

• सम्प्राप्य: having reached
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-प्र-आप् (धातु: आप्)
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), कर्तरि

• भारतीम्: the (river) Bhāratī
• भारतीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारती (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• अध्यम्: the middle (region)
• अध्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अध्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तलघोषसमाकुलम्: filled with the din of (striking) palms/hands
• तलघोषसमाकुलम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समाकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• असि-शक्ति-गदा-पूर्णम्: full of swords, spears, and maces
• असि-शक्ति-गदा-पूर्णम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अप्लवम्: without a boat/raft; not fordable
• अप्लवम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अप्लव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• सलिलम्: water
• सलिलम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सलिल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• यथा: as, like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhārata host (Kuru army)
• sword (asi)
• spear/lance (śakti)
• mace (gadā)
• water/flood (salila)