Shloka 41

Devanagari script

ये ये ददृशिरे तत्र यद्यद्रूपास्तदा जना: । ते ते तत्र शरैरव्याप्त॑ मेनिरेडडत्मानमात्मना,उस समय वहाँ जो-जो मनुष्य जिस-जिस रूपमें दिखायी देते थे, वे-वे स्वयं ही अपने- आपको बाणोंसे व्याप्त मानने लगे

Transliteration

ye ye dadṛśire tatra yadyadrūpās tadā janāḥ | te te tatra śarair avyāptān menire ātmanam ātmanā ||

Translation

Sañjaya dijo: «Allí, en aquel momento, cualesquiera que fuesen las formas en que aparecían las gentes, cada uno, en ese mismo lugar, llegó a sentir en sí mismo que estaba atravesado y colmado de flechas.»

Word by Word

येthose who

येwho (ever)

ददृशिरेwere seen / appeared

तत्रthere

यत्whatever

रूपाःforms/appearances

तदाthen/at that time

जनाःpeople/men

तेthey/those

तेthose very (same)

तत्रthere

शरैःby arrows

अव्याप्तम्pervaded/covered (lit. 'not-uncovered'; i.e., fully covered)

मेनिरेthought/considered

आत्मानम्themselves

आत्मनाby oneself

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

arrows (śara)

people/men (janāḥ)

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?

In the chaos of war, the mind can project danger onto the self: fear and confusion make people feel ‘struck’ even when the blow is not truly upon them. The verse highlights how perception, not only physical force, shapes suffering and moral collapse on the battlefield.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a battlefield scene in which those present, appearing in various conditions and forms, each comes to believe that he is being pierced or filled with arrows—suggesting widespread panic, disorientation, or a terrifying martial phenomenon affecting the combatants.