Shloka 47

जयद्रथवधः — The Slaying of Jayadratha

Sunset Vow and Curse-Condition

Devanagari script

दस्यूनां सशिरस्त्राणै: शिरोभिलूनमूर्थजै:

Transliteration

dasyūnāṁ saśirastrāṇaiḥ śirobhilūnamūrdhajaiḥ

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Le champ était jonché de têtes de combattants pillards — certaines encore coiffées de leurs casques, d’autres tondues, privées de cheveux — image qui souligne comment la guerre dépouille l’homme de sa dignité et de son identité, réduisant même les orgueilleux à de froids débris. Le récit avertit implicitement que la violence, une fois lâchée, consume toutes les distinctions de rang et de conduite.

Word by Word

• दस्यूनाम्: of the robbers/raiders
• दस्यूनाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: दस्यु
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• स-शिरस्त्राणैः: with helmets (lit. with head-protectors)
• स-शिरस्त्राणैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिरस्त्राण
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• शिरोभिः: with heads
• शिरोभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• लून-मूर्धजैः: with hair shorn/cut off (lit. with cut-born-on-the-head)
• लून-मूर्धजैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मूर्धज
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• śirastrāṇa (helmet/head-armor)
• severed heads

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses stark battlefield imagery to suggest an ethical warning: when adharma and violence dominate, human identity and honor collapse into mere physical ruin; war’s momentum erases distinctions and leaves only suffering.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the aftermath of intense fighting: the ground is littered with severed heads—some still wearing helmets, others with hair cut away—highlighting the ferocity and indiscriminate devastation of the conflict.