Shloka 21

उपायैः पूर्ववधकथनम् / Strategic Justifications for Prior Eliminations

Devanagari script

ततः समभवद्‌ युद्ध संध्यायामतिदारुणम्‌

Transliteration

tataḥ samabhavad yuddhaṃ sandhyāyām atidāruṇam

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Puis, au crépuscule, une bataille s’éleva—d’une atrocité extrême—marquant un tournant funeste : la violence du jour se changea en une heure plus périlleuse encore, lorsque la lumière décline et que la fureur monte, et qu’ensemble elles alourdissent le prix moral et humain de la guerre.

Word by Word

• ततः: then; thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततस्
• Form: Avyaya (ablatival adverb: 'from that/thereupon')

• समभवत्: arose; happened; came to be
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: लङ् (imperfect), परस्मैपदम्, प्रथमपुरुषः, एकवचनम्

• युद्धम्: battle; fighting
• युद्धम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: युद्ध
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• संध्यायाम्: at twilight; in the evening
• संध्यायाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संध्या
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्, सप्तमी विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• अतिदारुणम्: exceedingly dreadful; very terrible
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अतिदारुण
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा/द्वितीया विभक्तिः, एकवचनम् (युद्धम् इति विशेषणम्)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• yuddha (battle)
• sandhyā (twilight)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how war escalates beyond control: even the liminal time of twilight becomes a stage for intensified cruelty, inviting reflection on the ethical degradation and suffering that prolonged conflict produces.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, as evening approached, a fierce and terrifying engagement broke out, marking a particularly grim phase of the fighting.