Shloka 183

Devanagari script

सैन्येन रजसा मूढं सर्वमन्धमिवा भवत्‌ । उस अवस्थामें न आकाशका, न पृथ्वीका और न दिशाओंका ही पता लगता था। सेनाद्वारा उड़ायी हुई धूलसे आच्छादित होकर वहाँ सब कुछ अन्धकारमय हो गया था

Transliteration

sainyena rajasā mūḍhaṃ sarvam andham ivābhavat |

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Tout le champ fut troublé par la poussière soulevée par les armées, comme aveuglé dans l’obscurité. En cet état, on ne distinguait ni le ciel, ni la terre, ni même les directions : tant la poussière tourbillonnante recouvrait tout, changeant la scène en une morne pénombre.

Word by Word

सैन्येनby/through the army

रजसाby dust

मूढम्bewildered/obscured

सर्वम्everything

अन्धम्blind/dark

इवas if/like

अभवत्became/was

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

army (sainya)

dust (rajas)

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 underscores how war generates not only physical destruction but also moral and cognitive obscuration: the dust that blinds the eyes symbolizes the confusion that overwhelms judgment and orientation when violence dominates.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield at a moment when the armies’ movement raises such dense dust that everything appears dark and indistinguishable; even the sky, earth, and directions cannot be made out.