Shloka 603

Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)

Devanagari script

क्षरन्तो रुधिरं देहैविपन्नायुधजीविता: । युधिष्ठिरके बाणसमूहोंसे आच्छादित हुए आपके सैनिकोंने आँखें मीच लीं और आपसमें ही एक-दूसरेको घायल करके वे अत्यन्त पीड़ित हो गये। उस समय शरीरोंसे रक्तकी धारा बहाते हुए वे अपने अस्त्र-शस्त्र और जीवनसे भी हाथ धो बैठे

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | kṣaranto rudhiraṃ dehair vipannāyudha-jīvitāḥ | yudhiṣṭhirake bāṇa-samūhaiḥ ācchāditāḥ tava sainikāḥ akṣiṇī nimīlya parasparaṃ eva anyonyaṃ vyathayitvā atyanta-pīḍitā abhavan | tadā dehebhyaḥ rudhira-dhārāḥ kṣarantas te astrāṇi śastrāṇi ca jīvitaṃ ca parityajya iva vinaṣṭāḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Covered by volleys of arrows loosed by Yudhiṣṭhira, your soldiers shut their eyes in terror and confusion. In the crush of battle they struck one another and were grievously afflicted. Blood streamed from their bodies; bereft of weapons and of the will to live, they seemed stripped of both strength and life.

Word by Word

• क्षरन्तः: shedding, flowing out
• क्षरन्तः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्षर्
• Form: शतृ (वर्तमान कृदन्त), पुं, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• रुधिरम्: blood
• रुधिरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुधिर
• Form: नपुं, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• देहैः: with (their) bodies
• देहैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह
• Form: पुं, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• विपन्न: ruined, lost, destroyed
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विपन्न
• Form: क्त (भूतकृदन्त), पुं, प्रथमा, बहुवचन (समासान्तर्गत-विशेषणरूपेण)

• आयुध: weapons
• Type: Noun
• Root: आयुध
• Form: नपुं, प्रथमा/द्वितीया (समासान्तर्गत), बहुवचन (समासान्तर्गत)

• जीविताः: living beings; (those) alive
• जीविताः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जीवित
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Yudhishthira
• Dhritarashtra (implied by 'your')
• Kaurava soldiers
• arrows (bāṇa)
• weapons (āyudha, astra, śastra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how war, especially when driven by adharma and sustained by stubbornness, collapses into chaos where fear overrides discernment. Ethically, it underscores that violence rebounds: confusion and panic can make people harm their own, revealing the inner cost of conflict beyond mere victory or defeat.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that Yudhishthira’s arrow volleys overwhelm the Kaurava troops. In terror they shut their eyes, lose formation, and end up injuring one another. Bleeding heavily, they are described as having effectively lost both weapons and life.