Shloka 13

Devanagari script

निद्रान्धास्ते महाराज परिश्रान्ताश्न संयुगे

Transliteration

nidrāndhās te mahārāja pariśrāntāś ca saṃyuge

Translation

Sañjaya said: O great king, they were as though blinded by sleep, utterly exhausted amid the battle—overcome by fatigue in the very press of war.

Word by Word

• निद्रान्धाः: sleep-blinded, drowsy
• निद्रान्धाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निद्रान्ध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ते: they
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• परिश्रान्ताः: utterly exhausted
• परिश्रान्ताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परि-श्रान्त
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• अश्न: ate, consumed
• Type: Verb
• Root: अश्
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), 3rd, Plural

• संयुगे: in battle
• संयुगे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संयुग
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even the mightiest warriors are bound by human limits: exhaustion and loss of alertness can cloud judgment in war, reminding us that ethical discernment (dharma-buddhi) is fragile when the body and mind are overstrained.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the fighters were so worn out in the ongoing conflict that they appeared 'sleep-blinded'—a vivid description of battlefield fatigue affecting their awareness and effectiveness.