Shloka 42

धृतराष्ट्र-संजय-संवादः — दुर्योधनस्य ह्रदप्रवेशः

Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Saṃjaya Dialogue: Duryodhana’s Entry into the Lake

Devanagari script

सा पपात त्रिधा छच्छिन्ना भूमी कनकभूषणा

Transliteration

sā papāta tridhā chachchhinnā bhūmī kanakabhūṣaṇā

Translation

Sañjaya said: Adorned with golden ornaments, she fell to the ground—severed into three pieces. The line starkly underscores the brutal finality of battle, where even what is beautiful and honored is reduced to ruin by violence.

Word by Word

• सा: she
• सा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• पपात: fell
• Type: Verb
• Root: पत् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्शभूत/परफेक्ट), प्रथम, एकवचन

• त्रिधा: into three parts / threefold
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: त्रिधा (अव्यय)

• छिन्ना: cut, severed
• Type: Adjective
• Root: छिद् (धातु) → छिन्न (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भूमौ: on the ground
• भूमौ: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• कनकभूषणा: adorned with gold ornaments
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कनकभूषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• golden ornaments (kanakabhūṣaṇa)
• the ground/earth (bhūmi)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the harsh impermanence of worldly beauty and status in the face of war: ornaments and honor cannot protect life, and violence reduces even the adorned to destruction—prompting reflection on the ethical cost of conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a female figure, wearing golden ornaments, collapses to the earth after being cut into three pieces—an intense battlefield image conveying the ferocity of the fighting in the Śalya Parva.