Shloka 31

Devanagari script

चामरापीडकवचा: स्रस्तान्त्रनयनास्तथा । सारोहास्तुरगा: पेतु: पार्थबाणहता: क्षितौ

Transliteration

cāmarāpīḍakavacāḥ srastāntranayanās tathā | sārohās turagāḥ petuḥ pārthabāṇahatāḥ kṣitau ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Warriors clad in armor and adorned with yak-tail fans, their eyes and bodies slackened in collapse, fell to the earth—along with their horses and charioteers—struck down by the arrows of Pārtha.

Word by Word

चामरापीडकवचाःthose having yak-tail-fan crests and armor

स्रस्तान्त्रनयनाःthose whose eyes (and/or bodily parts) were drooping/relaxed

तथाand likewise

सारोहाःriders (mounted warriors)

तुरगाःhorses

पेतुःfell

पार्थबाणहताःslain by Arjuna's arrows

क्षितौon the ground

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Pārtha (Arjuna)

bāṇa (arrows)

turaga (horses)

kṣiti (earth/ground)

cāmara (yak-tail fans)

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 highlights the impermanence of worldly splendor and status in the face of death and duty-bound conflict: even richly adorned, well-armored fighters fall when confronted by superior martial discipline. It implicitly reflects the Mahābhārata’s ethical tension—glory and power are fragile, while actions (karma) in war bring immediate, irreversible consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that many combatants—together with their horses and charioteers—are collapsing onto the ground, having been struck by Arjuna’s arrows. The imagery emphasizes the scale and effectiveness of Arjuna’s assault in the Drona Parva battle sequence.