Shloka 73

Devanagari script

विधूमामिह संयान्तीमुल्कां प्रजज्लितामिव

Transliteration

vidhūmām iha saṃyāntīm ulkāṃ prajajlitām iva

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Here it appeared like a blazing meteor—brightly kindled, yet strangely without smoke—moving swiftly onward.”

Word by Word

• विधूमाम्: smokeless
• विधूमाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विधूम
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• इह: here
• इह: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इह

• संयान्तीम्: coming/approaching
• संयान्तीम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-या
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular, शतृ (present active participle)

• उल्काम्: a meteor/firebrand
• उल्काम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: उल्का
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• प्रजज्लिताम्: blazing, kindled
• प्रजज्लिताम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√ज्वल्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

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

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• ulkā (meteor/fiery portent)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses an omen-image to suggest that when adharma and unchecked violence intensify, nature itself seems to signal impending ruin; ethical disorder in human action is mirrored by unsettling signs in the world.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a striking celestial phenomenon—like a blazing, smokeless meteor moving across the sky—serving as a portent amid the catastrophic events of the Kurukṣetra war.