Shloka 20

Devanagari script

हयानां ह्वेषतां शब्द: कुज्जराणां च बृंहताम्‌

Transliteration

hayānāṁ hveṣatāṁ śabdaḥ kuñjarāṇāṁ ca bṛṁhatām

Translation

Yudhiṣṭhira said: “The sound of neighing horses and the loud trumpeting of elephants is rising.”

Word by Word

• हयानाम्: of horses
• हयानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: हय
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• ह्वेषताम्: of (those) neighing
• ह्वेषताम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: ह्वेष्
• Form: Present, —, Plural, Lat, Shatru (present active participle) genitive plural

• शब्दः: sound, noise
• शब्दः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शब्द
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कुञ्जराणाम्: of elephants
• कुञ्जराणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुञ्जर
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• बृंहताम्: of (those) trumpeting/roaring
• बृंहताम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: बृंह्
• Form: Present, —, Plural, Lat, Shatru (present active participle) genitive plural

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• horses
• elephants

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how the sensory realities of war—noise, movement, and massed animals—signal the gravity of impending action, reminding leaders to remain steady and discerning amid chaos.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira observes the battlefield soundscape: horses are neighing and elephants are trumpeting, indicating mobilization and the intensification of the conflict around them.