Shloka 32

Devanagari script

वीरास्थिशर्करा दुर्गा मांसशोणितकर्दमा । असिचर्मप्लवा घोरा केशशैवलशाद्धला

Transliteration

vīrāsthiśarkarā durgā māṃsaśoṇitakardamā | asicarmaplavā ghorā keśaśaivalśāddhalā ||

Translation

Ambarīṣa describes a terrifying stronghold-like scene: its gravel is made of heroes’ bones, its mire is flesh and blood, and it is crossed by rafts of sword-blades and hides. Dreadful and foul, it is choked with hair like river-weed and strewn with clotted, impure remnants—an image meant to awaken moral revulsion toward violence and the ruin it brings.

Word by Word

वीरास्थि-शर्कराhaving gravel (made) of heroes’ bones

दुर्गाa fortress; difficult passage

मांस-शोणित-कर्दमाhaving mire of flesh and blood

असि-चर्म-प्लवाhaving rafts (made) of swords and hides

घोराterrible, dreadful

केश-शैवल-शाद्वलाhaving grass/verdure of hair and algae

Speaker

अम्बरीष उवाच

Characters & Entities

Ambarīṣa

vīra (warriors/heroes)

asi (swords)

carma (hides/skins)

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?

By portraying a landscape made of bones, blood, and weapons, the verse uses shock and revulsion to underline the ethical cost of violence and the tragic aftermath of war, urging reflection on dharma and restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

Ambarīṣa is describing a dreadful, obstacle-like place—evoking a battlefield or hellish passage—filled with the physical remnants of slaughter (bones, flesh, blood, swords, hides, hair), emphasizing its horror and moral warning.