Shloka 2

Devanagari script

कीदृशं चाभवद्‌ रूप॑ तस्य घोरस्य रक्षस: । रथश्न कीदृशस्तस्य हया: सर्वायुधानि च,उस भयंकर राक्षसका रूप उस समय कैसा था? उसका रथ कैसा था? उसके घोड़े और सम्पूर्ण आयुध कैसे थे?

Transliteration

dhṛtarāṣṭra uvāca | kīdṛśaṃ cābhavad rūpaṃ tasya ghorasya rakṣasaḥ | rathaś ca kīdṛśas tasya hayāḥ sarvāyudhāni ca ||

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra demanda : «Quelle était l’apparence de ce rākṣasa effroyable en cet instant ? À quoi ressemblait son char ? Quels étaient ses chevaux et l’ensemble de ses armes ?»

Word by Word

कीदृशम्of what kind? (how?)

चand

अभवत्was, became

रूपम्form, appearance

तस्यof him/that

घोरस्यof the terrible

रक्षसःof the rākṣasa (demon)

रथःchariot

चand

कीदृशःof what kind? (how?)

तस्यof him/that

हयाःhorses

सर्वall

आयुधानिweapons

चand

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Rākṣasa (unnamed)

Chariot (ratha)

Horses (hayāḥ)

Weapons (āyudhāni)

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?

The verse highlights the king’s anxious inquiry into the concrete signs of danger—form, vehicle, mounts, and weapons—showing how fear in war seeks certainty through detailed description rather than moral reflection.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra questions the narrator about a terrifying Rākṣasa who has appeared in the battle context, asking for a vivid account of his appearance and martial equipment (chariot, horses, and weapons).