Shloka 20

Śaraṇāgata-Atithi-Dharma in the Kapota Narrative (कपोत-आख्यानम्—शरणागतधर्मः)

Devanagari script

अस्थिसंचयसंकीर्णा महाभूतरवाकुला । शून्यभूयिष्तनगरा दग्धग्रामनिवेशना,सब ओर हड्ियोंके ढेर लग गये। प्राणियोंके महान्‌ आर्तनाद सब ओर व्याप्त हो रहे थे। नगरके अधिकांश भाग उजाड़ हो गये थे तथा गाँव और घर जल गये थे

Transliteration

asthisaṃcayasaṃkīrṇā mahābhūtaravākulā | śūnyabhūyiṣṭanagarā dagdhagrāmaniveśanā ||

Translation

ભીષ્મે કહ્યું—ચારે તરફ હાડકાંના ઢગલા છવાઈ ગયા હતા; પ્રાણીઓના મહા આર્તનાદથી સમગ્ર પ્રદેશ વ્યાકુળ હતો. નગરનો મોટાભાગ ઉજાડ થઈ ગયો હતો અને ગામો તથા વસાહતો દગ્ધ થઈ ગઈ હતી।

Word by Word

अस्थि-संचय-संकीर्णाःstrewn/mixed with heaps of bones

महाभूत-रव-आकुलाःfilled with the great cries/roars (of beings)

शून्य-भूयिष्ठ-नगराःcities mostly empty/deserted

दग्ध-ग्राम-निवेशनाःsettlements/villages burnt down

Speaker

भीष्म उवाच

Characters & Entities

Bhishma

city (nagara)

villages (grāma)

dwellings/settlements (niveśana)

bones (asthi)

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 ethical cost of violence: war leaves not only victory or defeat but widespread suffering, desolation, and the stark reminder of mortality. In the Shanti Parva’s moral frame, such imagery supports reflection on dharma, restraint, and compassion after conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Bhishma depicts a landscape of ruin—bones piled everywhere, cries of distressed beings filling the air, cities largely emptied, and villages and homes burned—evoking the grim aftermath of large-scale destruction.