Shloka 38

Droṇasya raudra-prayogaḥ

Droṇa’s intensified assault and the Pāṇḍava response

Devanagari script

अपतद्‌ दीप्यमाना च सनिर्घाता सकम्पना

Transliteration

apatad dīpyamānā ca sanirghātā sakampanā

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: Ia jatuh—menyala dengan kilau laksana api—disertai dentuman menggelegar dan guncangan bumi. Di tengah perang, pertanda-pertanda muram semacam ini menajamkan takut dan kekacauan, seakan mengingatkan bahwa kekerasan membangkitkan daya yang melampaui kendali manusia, dan perang yang sarat adharma mengundang tanda-tanda mengerikan.

Word by Word

• अपतत्: fell
• Type: Verb
• Root: पत् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (Imperfect), 3rd, Singular, परस्मैपदम्

• दीप्यमाना: shining, blazing
• दीप्यमाना: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दीप् (धातु) → दीप्यमान (शतृ/शानच्-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• सनिर्घाता: with a crash/with thunderous sound
• सनिर्घाता: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स + निर्घात (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• सकम्पना: with trembling/causing shaking
• सकम्पना: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स + कम्पन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• ominous blazing object/portent (unspecified)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how violent conflict is shadowed by ominous signs—suggesting that when dharma is strained in war, nature itself seems to respond with dread, urging reflection on the moral cost and uncontrollable consequences of adharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a sudden fall of a blazing phenomenon, accompanied by a loud crash and trembling—an inauspicious portent occurring amid the events of the Drona Parva, heightening the atmosphere of terror and foreboding.