Shloka 47

जयद्रथवधः — The Slaying of Jayadratha

Sunset Vow and Curse-Condition

Devanagari script

दस्यूनां सशिरस्त्राणै: शिरोभिलूनमूर्थजै:

Transliteration

dasyūnāṁ saśirastrāṇaiḥ śirobhilūnamūrdhajaiḥ

Translation

वहाँ दस्युओं के सिर बिखरे पड़े थे—कुछ शिरस्त्राण सहित, कुछ के केश कटे हुए—मानो युद्ध ने मनुष्यों की पहचान और मर्यादा दोनों छीन ली हों।

Word by Word

• दस्यूनाम्: of the robbers/raiders
• दस्यूनाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: दस्यु
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• स-शिरस्त्राणैः: with helmets (lit. with head-protectors)
• स-शिरस्त्राणैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिरस्त्राण
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• शिरोभिः: with heads
• शिरोभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• लून-मूर्धजैः: with hair shorn/cut off (lit. with cut-born-on-the-head)
• लून-मूर्धजैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मूर्धज
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• śirastrāṇa (helmet/head-armor)
• severed heads

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses stark battlefield imagery to suggest an ethical warning: when adharma and violence dominate, human identity and honor collapse into mere physical ruin; war’s momentum erases distinctions and leaves only suffering.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the aftermath of intense fighting: the ground is littered with severed heads—some still wearing helmets, others with hair cut away—highlighting the ferocity and indiscriminate devastation of the conflict.