Shloka 125

Vāsudeva-Māhātmya: Duryodhana’s Inquiry and Bhīṣma’s Theological Account of Keśava

Devanagari script

वेगेन सातीव पृथुप्रवाहा परेतनागाश्वशरीररोधा । नरेन्द्रमज्जोच्छितमांसपड्का प्रभूतरक्षोगणभूतसेविता,वह नदी बड़े वेगसे बह रही थी। उसका प्रवाह पुष्ट था। मरे हुए हाथी, घोड़ोंके शरीर तटोंके समान प्रतीत होते थे। राजाओंके मज्जा और मांस कीचड़के समान थे। बहुत-से राक्षत और भूतगण उसका सेवन करते थे

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

vegena sātīva pṛthupravāhā paretanāgāśvaśarīrarodhā |

narendramajjochchhitamāṃsapaṅkā prabhūtarakṣogaṇabhūtasevitā ||

Translation

Sañjaya dijo: Aquel río se precipitaba con velocidad inmensa, de corriente ancha y poderosa. Los cuerpos de elefantes y caballos muertos formaban barreras como riberas a lo largo de su curso. La médula y la carne de los reyes se volvían su fango, y lo atestaban muchos rākṣasas y bhūtas que bebían de él. La imagen revela el horror moral de la guerra: el orgullo real y el poder mundano se disuelven en el mismo lodo atroz, y el campo de batalla se vuelve guarida de fuerzas oscuras que se alimentan de la violencia.

Word by Word

वेगेनwith speed, by force

साshe/that (river)

अतीवexceedingly, very

पृथु-प्रवाहाhaving a broad/strong current

परेत-नाग-अश्व-शरीर-रोधाwhose obstructions were the bodies of dead elephants and horses

नरेन्द्र-मज्जा-उच्छित-मांस-पङ्काwhose mud was (made of) kings' marrow and raised-up/floating flesh

प्रभूत-रक्षोगण-भूत-सेविताfrequented/consumed by many hosts of rakshasas and bhutas

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

river (metaphorical river of blood/war)

elephants

horses

kings (narendras)

rākṣasas

bhūtas

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses a stark metaphor to expose the ethical cost of war: even kings and great warriors are reduced to perishable matter, and violence creates conditions where destructive, ‘dark’ forces thrive. It warns against pride in power and highlights the impermanence of worldly status.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is narrating the battlefield scene to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, portraying a terrifying ‘river’ formed by the carnage of war—swift, wide, clogged with dead elephants and horses, and muddied with the flesh and marrow of fallen kings—haunted by rākṣasas and bhūtas.