Shloka 7

Devanagari script

धनंजयशराभ्यस्तै: स्यन्दनाश्वरथद्विपै: । संछिन्नभिन्नविध्वस्तैर्व्यज्राज़ावयवै: स्तृता

Transliteration

dhanañjayaśarābhyastaiḥ syandanāśvarathadvipaiḥ | sañchinnabhinnavidhvastair vyajāḍāva-yavaiḥ stṛtā ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: Berulang-ulang dihantam anak panah Dhanañjaya (Arjuna), kereta-kereta perang, kuda-kuda, dan gajah-gajah tercerai-berai—terpotong, terbelah, dan hancur sama sekali. Anggota-anggota tubuh dan bagian-bagiannya berserakan, hingga tanah di sana tertutup oleh puing-puing kehancuran itu.

Word by Word

• धनंजय-शर-अभ्यस्तैः: by those repeatedly struck by Dhananjaya’s arrows
• धनंजय-शर-अभ्यस्तैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: धनंजय + शर + अभ्यस्त
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• स्यन्दन-अश्व-रथ-द्विपैः: by chariots, horses, chariot(-parts)/cars, and elephants
• स्यन्दन-अश्व-रथ-द्विपैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्यन्दन + अश्व + रथ + द्विप
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• संछिन्न-भिन्न-विध्वस्तैः: by (things) cut off, shattered, and destroyed
• संछिन्न-भिन्न-विध्वस्तैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संछिन्न + भिन्न + विध्वस्त
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• व्यज्र-आस्र-अवयवैः: by hard/bone-like, blood-smeared limbs (scattered parts)
• व्यज्र-आस्र-अवयवैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: व्यज्र + आस्र + अवयव
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• स्तृता: (the earth/ground) was strewn/covered
• स्तृता: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्तॄ (स्तृ) → स्तृत (PPP)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhanañjaya (Arjuna)
• arrows
• chariots
• horses
• elephants
• battlefield ground

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the grim reality of war: even when framed as kṣatriya-duty, martial excellence produces widespread destruction. It invites reflection on the ethical weight of violence and the impermanence of power and bodies amid conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield after repeated volleys from Arjuna: chariots, horses, and elephants have been cut to pieces and ruined, their parts scattered so densely that the ground is covered with the wreckage.