Mahabharata 7.32.183 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 32, Shloka 183

Cakravyūha-saṃkalpaḥ, Saṃśaptaka-āhvānaṃ, Saubhadra-vikrīḍitam

Drona Parva, Adhyāya 32

Devanagari script

ह्वीमन्‍्त: कालसम्पर्कात्‌ सुदुःखान्यनुशेरते । बड़े-बड़े राजा कालसंयोगसे अत्यन्त दुःखदायिनी तथा गीधकी पाँखरूपी बिछौनोंसे युक्त शय्याओंपर लज्जापूर्वक सो रहे थे

Transliteration

hvīmantāḥ kālasamparkāt suduḥkhāny anuśerate |

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Sous le rude contact du Temps (du destin), ils s’étendirent au milieu de souffrances extrêmes—de grands rois, abaissés par les circonstances, dormant avec honte sur des couches faites de plumes de vautour, comme si leur repos même proclamait la ruine apportée par la guerre.

Word by Word

• भीमाः: terrible, formidable (ones)
• भीमाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भीम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• काल-सम्पर्कात्: from contact/association with Time (fate)
• काल-सम्पर्कात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालसम्पर्क
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• सु-दुःखानि: very great sorrows
• सु-दुःखानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुदुःख
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• अनुशेरते: lie down upon / sleep (undergo, experience)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अनु-शी (शे)
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Atmanepada

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• काल (Time/Fate)
• राजानः (kings)
• गीध-पक्ष-शय्या (beds of vulture-feathers)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the overpowering force of Kāla (Time/Fate): worldly status like kingship collapses under war’s consequences, and pride gives way to shame and suffering—highlighting impermanence and the ethical weight of violent conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports the aftermath-like condition of great kings: due to the turn of Time, they are reduced to sleeping in miserable, degrading circumstances (beds likened to vulture-feathers), conveying exhaustion, defeat, and humiliation within the war setting.