Shloka 56

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 95 — Sātyaki’s Breakthrough and the Routing of Allied Contingents

Devanagari script

भूरिद्रुमलतागुल्मं शुष्केन्धनतृणोलपम्‌

Transliteration

bhūridrumalatāgulmaṃ śuṣkendhanatṛṇolapam

Translation

Sanjaya said: It was filled with abundant trees, creepers, and shrubs—now reduced to dry fuel, grass, and scattered fragments, evoking the desolation wrought by war and the moral cost of violence upon the living landscape.

Word by Word

• भूरि: much, many
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भूरि
• Form: indeclinable (used adjectivally: 'much/many')

• द्रुमलतागुल्मम्: trees, creepers, and shrubs (as a mass)
• द्रुमलतागुल्मम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रुम + लता + गुल्म
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

• शुष्केन्धनतृणोलपम्: dry fuel-wood, grass, and straw/chaff (as a mass)
• शुष्केन्धनतृणोलपम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शुष्क + इन्धन + तृण + उलप
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the ethical weight of war by showing how violence does not only fell warriors but also devastates the natural world, turning a once-lush landscape into dry, lifeless debris—an implicit reminder of the far-reaching consequences of adharma-driven conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya is describing the battlefield environment: an area that had been rich with trees, vines, and shrubs is now portrayed as withered and broken, like dry firewood and straw, emphasizing the ruin surrounding the combat.