Shloka 28

Devanagari script

उत्थितान्यगणेयानि कबन्धानि समन्तत:ः । अदृश्यन्त महाराज तस्मिन्‌ परमसंकुले,महाराज! उस अत्यन्त भयानक युद्धमें चारों ओर असंख्य कबन्ध (धड़) उठे दिखायी देते थे

Transliteration

utthitāny agaṇeyāni kabandhāni samantataḥ | adṛśyanta mahārāja tasmin paramasaṅkule ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O King, in that utterly chaotic and dreadful battle, countless headless trunks were seen rising up on every side.”

Word by Word

उत्थितानिrisen, standing up

अगणेयानिinnumerable, not countable

कबन्धानिtrunks (headless bodies)

समन्ततःon all sides, all around

अदृश्यन्तwere seen, appeared

महाराजO great king

तस्मिन्in that

परमसंकुलेin the extremely crowded/confused (scene)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'mahārāja')

kabandha (headless trunks)

battlefield (implied)

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 underscores the brutal, dehumanizing reality of war: when dharma collapses into unchecked violence, the battlefield becomes a scene of mass suffering, reminding the listener of the grave ethical cost of conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the battle has become intensely chaotic; in the carnage, innumerable severed torsos (kabandhas) are seen rising or lurching about on all sides, emphasizing the terror and confusion of the fighting.