Mahabharata 7.181.39 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 181, Shloka 39

Devanagari script

एवं महच्छस्त्रवर्ष सृजन्त- स्ते यातुधाना भुवि घोररूपा: । मायासृष्टास्तत्र घटोत्कचेन नामुज्चन्‌ वै याचमानं न भीतम्‌

Transliteration

evaṁ mahācchastravarṣaṁ sṛjantaste yātudhānā bhuvi ghorarūpāḥ | māyāsṛṣṭāstatra ghaṭotkacena nāmuñcan vai yācamānaṁ na bhītam ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Thus, pouring down a great rain of weapons, those yātudhānas—taking on terrifying forms upon the earth—appeared. Conjured by Ghaṭotkaca’s magic, they would not spare even one who, frightened, begged for his life.”

Word by Word

• {'evaṁ': 'thus

• in this manner', 'mahā': 'great

• immense', 'śastra-varṣa': 'a shower/rain of weapons', 'sṛjant(aḥ)': 'creating

• sending forth', 'te': 'they', 'yātudhānāḥ': 'demonic beings

• night-roaming rākṣasa-like entities', 'bhuvi': 'on the earth

• on the ground', 'ghora-rūpāḥ': 'of dreadful/terrifying form', 'māyā': 'magic

• supernatural artifice', 'sṛṣṭāḥ': 'created

• produced', 'tatra': 'there

• in that place', 'ghaṭotkacena': 'by Ghaṭotkaca (instrumental)', 'na': 'not', 'muñcan (amuñcan)': 'they released/spared

• let go', 'vai': 'indeed

• emphatic particle', 'yācamānam': 'one who is begging/imploring', 'bhītam': 'frightened

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Ghaṭotkaca
• Yātudhānas (demonic/night-roaming beings)
• Śastra (weapons)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how warfare can descend into ruthless, fear-driven violence, especially when amplified by deceptive power (māyā). Ethically, it points to the erosion of restraint: when combatants no longer spare even the pleading and terrified, the battle moves further from dharma toward adharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes terrifying yātudhānas appearing on the battlefield, created through Ghaṭotkaca’s magical power. These beings unleash a heavy shower of weapons and show no mercy, not even to those who beg for their lives in fear.