Shloka 24

उपायैः पूर्ववधकथनम् / Strategic Justifications for Prior Eliminations

Devanagari script

रात्रौ वंशवनस्येव दह्यमानस्य पर्वते

Transliteration

rātrau vaṁśavanasyeva dahyamānasya parvate

Translation

Sañjaya dit : «Dans la nuit, cela paraissait une montagne dont la bambouseraie était en flammes»—image saisissante des incendies et du tumulte du champ de bataille, suggérant que la violence de la guerre fait de la nature même un spectacle de ruine et d’effroi.

Word by Word

• रात्रौ: at night
• रात्रौ: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रात्रि
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• वंशवनस्य: of a bamboo-grove
• वंशवनस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वंशवन
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• इव: like/as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• दह्यमानस्य: of (one) being burnt / burning
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दह्यमान
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• पर्वते: on/in the mountain
• पर्वते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर्वत
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• bamboo-grove (vaṁśavana)
• mountain (parvata)
• night (rātri)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores war’s consuming nature: violence spreads like fire, transforming even what is ordinarily life-giving (a forest) into a scene of ruin, prompting reflection on the ethical cost of conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya paints a night-time दृश्य (scene) of the battlefield by comparing it to a mountain with a bamboo forest burning—implying widespread flames, glare, and chaos in the ongoing fighting.