Shloka 40

Devanagari script

निर्दहन्निव चक्षुर्भ्या पार्षत॑ सो5भ्यवैक्षत

Transliteration

nirdahann iva cakṣurbhyāṃ pārṣataḥ so 'bhyavaikṣata

Translation

Sañjaya said: With eyes that seemed to burn, that son of Pārṣatī (Dhṛṣṭadyumna) fixed his gaze upon him—an intense, wrathful look that signaled resolve hardening amid the moral strain of battle.

Word by Word

• निर्दहन्: burning, scorching
• निर्दहन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: निर्दह् (नि + दह्)
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• इव: as if, like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• चक्षुर्भ्याम्: with (his) two eyes
• चक्षुर्भ्याम्: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: चक्षुस्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Dual

• पार्षतः: the son of Prishata (Dhrishtadyumna)
• पार्षतः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्षत (द्रुपदपुत्रः; धृष्टद्युम्नः)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अभ्यवैक्षत: looked at, gazed upon
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि + अव + ईक्ष्
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛṣṭadyumna (Pārṣata)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how inner states—especially wrath and determination—manifest outwardly in war; it implicitly warns that intense emotion can drive action, intensifying the ethical burden of choices made on the battlefield.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Dhṛṣṭadyumna (called Pārṣata) staring fiercely—his eyes ‘as if burning’—at an opponent, marking a moment of heightened hostility and imminent action within the Drona Parva battle sequence.