Shloka 56

कर्णार्जुनसमागमः — The Karṇa–Arjuna Confrontation

Cosmic Spectatorship and Vows

Devanagari script

धावतां च ततो राजंस्त्रस्तानां च समन्‍्तत:ः । आर्तनादो महांस्तत्र भूतानामिव सम्प्लवे,पुरुषसिंह! वे श्रेष्ठ योद्धा व्याप्रोंके समान चीत्कार करते थे। राजन! युद्धके मुहानेपर भयभीत हो चिल्लाते और डरकर सब ओर भागते हुए उन सैनिकोंका महान्‌ आर्तनाद प्रलयकालमें समस्त प्राणियोंके चीत्कारके समान जान पड़ता था

Transliteration

dhāvatāṃ ca tato rājan trastānāṃ ca samantataḥ | ārtanādo mahāṃs tatra bhūtānām iva samplave, puruṣasiṃha |

Translation

Sanjaya said: “O King, as they fled and, terrified, scattered in every direction, a great cry of anguish arose there—like the wailing of all creatures at the time of cosmic dissolution. O lion among men, the battlefield’s very mouth seemed filled with panic as the soldiers, overcome by fear, shouted and ran.”

Word by Word

• {'dhāvatām': 'of those running/fleeing (genitive plural present participle)', 'tataḥ': 'then

• thereafter', 'rājan': 'O king (vocative)', 'trastānām': 'of the frightened/terrified (genitive plural)', 'samantataḥ': 'on all sides

• everywhere', 'ārtanādaḥ': 'cry of distress

• lamentation', 'mahān': 'great

• immense', 'tatra': 'there', 'bhūtānām': 'of living beings

• creatures', 'iva': 'as if

• like', 'samplave': 'in a flood

• at dissolution/cataclysm (contextually: pralaya-like catastrophe)', 'puruṣasiṃha': 'O lion among men (vocative epithet)'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'rājan')
• soldiers/warriors (collective)
• pralaya/samplava (cosmic dissolution imagery)