Shloka 33

Devanagari script

हता उदीच्या निहताः: प्रतीच्या: प्राच्या निरस्ता दाक्षिणात्या विशस्ता:,“मेरे द्वारा उत्तर दिशाके वीर मारे गये, पश्चिमके योद्धाओंका संहार हो गया, पूर्वदेशके क्षत्रिय नष्ट हो गये और दक्षिणदेशीय योद्धा काट डाले गये। संशप्तकोंका भी थोड़ा-सा ही भाग शेष रह गया है। मैंने सारी कौरव-सेनाके आधे भागको स्वयं ही नष्ट किया है। राजन! देवताओंकी सेनाके समान प्रकाशित होनेवाली भरतवंशियोंकी यह विशाल वाहिनी मेरे ही हाथों मारी जाकर रणभूमिमें सो रही है

Transliteration

hatā udīcyā nihatāḥ pratīcyāḥ prācyā nirastā dākṣiṇātyā viśastāḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: “The warriors of the northern quarter have been slain; those of the western quarter have been struck down; the kṣatriyas of the eastern lands have been routed and destroyed; and the fighters of the southern regions have been cut to pieces. Only a small remnant of the Saṁsaptakas remains. I myself have destroyed half of the entire Kaurava host. O King, this vast army of the Bhāratas—shining like the army of the gods—has been felled by my own hand and now lies asleep upon the battlefield.”

Word by Word

हताःslain

उदीच्याःnortherners (men of the north)

निहताःkilled, struck down

प्रतीच्याःwesterners (men of the west)

प्राच्याःeasterners (men of the east)

निरस्ताःdestroyed, driven off, laid low

दाक्षिणात्याःsoutherners (men of the south)

विशस्ताःcut down, hewn down

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

King Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'rājan')

Kaurava army

Bhāratas

Saṁsaptakas

battlefield (raṇabhūmi)

devas (as a comparison: 'army of the gods')

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 highlights the moral and psychological texture of war: victory-talk and self-assertion arise amid catastrophic loss. By listing the slain from every direction, the narration underscores the totalizing nature of conflict—how pride and triumphal claims can coexist with the ethical horror of mass killing.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra a sweeping account of battlefield devastation, describing fighters from all quarters being killed and noting that only a small portion of the Saṁsaptakas remains. He claims personal responsibility for destroying a large part of the Kaurava host, and depicts the fallen army lying on the field.