Shloka 34

Devanagari script

निज्द्रिश्न श्वसद्धिश्व कूजद्धिश्व गतासुभि: । हयैर्बभौ नरश्रेष्ठ नानारूपधरैर्धरा,राजन! वहाँ गिरते हुए घोड़ोंकी लाशोंसे सारी पृथ्वी पट गयी। किन्हींकी जीभ निकल आयी थी, कोई लंबी साँस खींच रहे थे, कोई धीरे-धीरे अव्यक्त शब्द करते और कितनोंके प्राण निकल गये थे। नरश्रेष्ठट इस प्रकार विभिन्न रूपधारी घोड़ोंसे आच्छादित होनेके कारण इस पृथ्वीकी अद्भुत शोभा हो रही थी

Transliteration

niśvasadbhir kūjadbhir gatāsubhiś ca hayair babhau naraśreṣṭha nānārūpadharair dharā | rājan |

Translation

સંજય બોલ્યો—હે રાજન, ત્યાં કેટલાક ઘોડા લાંબા શ્વાસ ખેંચતા હતા, કેટલાક ધીમા અસ્પષ્ટ અવાજ કરતા હતા, અને ઘણાં તો પ્રાણવિહોણા થઈ ગયા હતા. હે નરશ્રેષ્ઠ, નાનારૂપધારી ઘોડાઓથી ઢંકાઈને તે ધરતી એક અદભુત પરંતુ ભયંકર શોભા ધારણ કરતી હતી।

Word by Word

निःश्वसत्breathing out, exhaling

श्वसत्breathing, panting

कूजत्making indistinct sounds, moaning

गतासुभिःwith life-breath gone; dead

हयैःby/with horses

बभौshone, appeared splendid

नरश्रेष्ठO best of men

नानारूपधरैःassuming various forms/appearances

धराःthe earth

राजन्O king

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

King (Dhṛtarāṣṭra, implied by address rājan)

horses (haya)

earth/ground (dharā)

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 the stark reality of war: life is fragile, suffering is immediate, and even noble duty (kṣatriya-dharma) unfolds amid grievous loss. It invites ethical reflection on the human and animal cost that accompanies righteous or necessary conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield to the king: the ground is covered with fallen horses—some still breathing or faintly crying, many already dead—creating a grim scene of devastation during the Kurukṣetra war.