Shloka 64
Devanagari script
आकर्णपलित: श्यामो ववसाशीतिपञ्चक:
Transliteration
ākarṇapalitaḥ śyāmo vavasāśītipañcakaḥ
Translation
Sañjaya said: “He was dark-complexioned, yet grey-haired up to the ears; and he had lived through eighty-five years.”
Word by Word
आकर्णपलितःgrey-haired up to the ears (i.e., with grey hair reaching the ears)
आकर्णपलितः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootआकर्णपलित
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
श्यामःdark/black-complexioned
श्यामः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootश्याम
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
ववसdwelt/lived
ववस:
TypeVerb
Rootवस्
FormPerfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular
अशीतिपञ्चकःa group of eighty-five; (one) of eighty-five (years)
अशीतिपञ्चकः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootअशीतिपञ्चक
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Characters & Entities
S
SañjayaCharacter 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
The verse highlights impermanence and the moral weight of war: even those advanced in years—marked by grey hair and long life—remain subject to the consequences of conflict, reminding the listener that dharma must be weighed carefully against the ruin war brings to all generations.
Sañjaya is describing a person’s appearance and age in a concise battlefield report—dark in complexion but visibly aged (grey up to the ears), and eighty-five years old—adding a human, biographical detail amid the larger war narration.