Mahabharata 7.186.39 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 186, Shloka 39
सायुधा: सगदाश्रैव सखड््गा: सपरकश्वधा: । सप्रासकवचाश्नान्ये नरा: सुप्ता: पृथक् पृथक्
sāyudhāḥ sagadāś caiva sakhadgāḥ saparaśvadhāḥ | saprāsakavacāś cānye narāḥ suptāḥ pṛthak pṛthak ||
Sañjaya said: Some men lay asleep with their weapons at hand—some with maces, others with swords and battle-axes; and still others, adorned with spears and armor. Thus, in that war-camp, the warriors slept scattered apart, each in his own place—an image of an army outwardly prepared for violence, yet inwardly vulnerable in the unguarded state of sleep.
संजय उवाच
Educational Q&A
Even amid full martial preparedness—weapons and armor—the human condition remains fragile: sleep levels distinctions and exposes vulnerability. The verse underscores the ethical tension of war, where readiness for violence coexists with the helplessness of ordinary bodily needs.
Sañjaya reports the scene in the battlefield camp: warriors are lying asleep in scattered places, still holding or equipped with various weapons and armor. The description sets a night-time atmosphere of dispersed rest within an armed host.
Ask anything about this verse
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.