Shloka 30

Devanagari script

ट्रमाणां शिखराणीव दावदग्धानि मारिष | अश्वव्‌न्दान्यदृश्यन्त रथवृन्दानि भारत

Transliteration

drumāṇāṃ śikharāṇīva dāvadagdhāni māriṣa | aśvavṛndāny adṛśyanta rathavṛndāni bhārata ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O noble one, O Bhārata, the clusters of chariots and the herds of horses appeared as though they were mountain-peaks of trees scorched by a forest-fire—blackened, broken, and stripped of their former splendor.”

Word by Word

• द्रुमाणाम्: of trees
• द्रुमाणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रुम
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• शिखराणि: peaks/tops
• शिखराणि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिखर
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• इव: like/as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• दावदग्धानि: burnt by a forest-fire
• दावदग्धानि: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दावदग्ध
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• मारिष: O noble one/sir
• Type: Noun
• Root: मारिष
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• अश्ववृन्दानि: groups of horses
• अश्ववृन्दानि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्ववृन्द
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• अदृश्यन्त: were seen/appeared
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Plural, Ātmanepada, Passive/impersonal sense

• रथवृन्दानि: groups of chariots
• रथवृन्दानि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथवृन्द
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• भारत: O Bhārata
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra as addressee)
• aśvavṛnda (groups of horses)
• rathavṛnda (groups of chariots)
• dāva (forest-fire)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the fragility of martial glory: even the proud instruments of power—chariots and horses—can be reduced to charred remnants. It evokes a moral reflection on the cost of war and the impermanence of worldly strength.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the दृश्य (scene) of the battlefield: masses of chariots and horses appear blackened and devastated, compared to treetops scorched by a raging forest-fire, conveying the scale of ruin after intense fighting.