Mahabharata 7.99.14 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 99, Shloka 14

अध्याय ९९ — युयुधान-दुःशासन-युद्धम्

Chapter 99: Sātyaki and Duḥśāsana’s engagement

Devanagari script

भक्षयन्तश्न मांसानि पिबन्तश्नापि शोणितम्‌ | विलुम्पन्तश्न केशांश्व मज्जाश्व बहुधा नूप,नरेश्वर! वे मांस खाते, रक्त पीते और केशों तथा मज्जाको बारंबार नोचते थे

Transliteration

bhakṣayantāś ca māṁsāni pibantāś cāpi śoṇitam | vilumpantāś ca keśāṁś ca majjāṁś ca bahudhā nṛpa naraśreṣṭha ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O king, those beings were devouring flesh and even drinking blood; again and again they were tearing out hair and marrow. The scene revealed the utter collapse of restraint and compassion amid the violence of war, where cruelty appeared unchecked and humanity seemed eclipsed.”

Word by Word

• भक्षयन्तः: eating/devouring
• भक्षयन्तः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: भक्ष्
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमान कृदन्त (present active participle), पुं, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• मांसानि: fleshes/meats
• मांसानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मांस
• Form: नपुं, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• पिबन्तः: drinking
• पिबन्तः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: पा (पिबति)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमान कृदन्त (present active participle), पुं, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• अपि: also/even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• शोणितम्: blood
• शोणितम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शोणित
• Form: नपुं, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• विलुम्पन्तः: plundering/tearing off
• विलुम्पन्तः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: लुप् (वि-लुम्पति)
• Form: शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमान कृदन्त (present active participle), पुं, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• केशान्: hairs
• केशान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: केश
• Form: पुं, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• मज्जान्: marrows
• मज्जान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मज्जा
• Form: स्त्री, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• बहुधा: in many ways/repeatedly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: बहुधा

• नृप: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप
• Form: पुं, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• नरेश्वर: O lord of men
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरेश्वर
• Form: पुं, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by address nṛpa/naraśreṣṭha)
• flesh (māṁsa)
• blood (śoṇita)
• hair (keśa)
• marrow (majjā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse functions as a moral warning through stark imagery: when violence and hatred dominate, restraint (dama) and compassion (dayā) collapse, leading to acts that violate human dignity and dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the king a terrifying battlefield scene in which savage beings (or men behaving savagely) consume flesh, drink blood, and rip out hair and marrow—emphasizing the extreme brutality surrounding the conflict.