Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 183

Adhyāya 14: Śalya’s Missile-Pressure and the Pāṇḍava Convergence (शल्यस्य शरवर्षम्)

Devanagari script

बभूव भरतश्रेष्ठ रुद्रस्याक्रीडनं यथा । भरतश्रेष्ठ! वह रणभूमि रुद्रदेवके क्रीडास्थल (श्मशान)-की भाँति कायरोंके मनमें भय उत्पन्न करनेवाली और शूरवीरोंका हर्ष बढ़ानेवाली थी

Transliteration

babhūva bharataśreṣṭha rudrasyākrīḍanaṃ yathā |

Translation

હે ભરતશ્રેષ્ઠ! તે રણભૂમિ રુદ્રદેવના ક્રીડાસ્થળ—શ્મશાન—સમાન બની ગઈ. તે કાયરોનાં હૃદયમાં ભય જગાવતી અને શૂરવીરોનો હર્ષ તથા ઉત્સાહ વધારતી હતી.

Word by Word

• बभूव: became / was
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्षभूत), 3, singular, परस्मैपद

• भरतश्रेष्ठ: O best of the Bharatas
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरत-श्रेष्ठ
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

• रुद्रस्य: of Rudra
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र
• Form: masculine, genitive, singular

• आक्रीडनम्: playground / sporting-place
• Type: Noun
• Root: आक्रीडन
• Form: neuter, nominative, singular

• यथा: as / like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Rudra (Śiva)
• battlefield (raṇabhūmi)
• cremation-ground (śmaśāna)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses Rudra’s cremation-ground imagery to show that extreme situations expose one’s inner disposition: the unsteady are overwhelmed by fear, while the steadfast and courageous find their resolve intensified. Ethically, it highlights the kṣatriya ideal of facing mortality without collapse, while also reminding the listener of war’s proximity to death and destruction.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the condition of the battlefield during the Kurukṣetra war. He likens it to Rudra’s ‘playground’—a cremation-ground—emphasizing its terrifying atmosphere and its opposite effects on different warriors: panic among cowards and heightened ardor among heroes.