Shloka 16

धृतराष्ट्र-संजय-संवादः — सात्यकि-अलम्बुसयोर्युद्धवर्णनम्

Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Saṃjaya Dialogue; Account of Sātyaki vs Alambusa

Devanagari script

प्रायाद्‌ द्रोणरथं प्रेप्सुर्युयुधानस्य पृष्ठत: । संजय कहते हैं--महाराज! जब युयुधान युद्धकी इच्छासे आपकी सेनाकी ओर बढ़े, उस समय अपने सैनिकोंसे घिरे हुए धर्मराज युधिष्छिर द्रोणाचार्यके रथका सामना करनेके लिये उनके पीछे-पीछे गये,ऊरुभि: पृथिवी च्छन्ना मनुजानां नराधिप । माननीय नरेश! सारे कौरव-सैनिक सात्यकिके तेजसे मोहित हो अकेले होनेपर भी उन्हें अनेक रूपोंमें देखने लगे। वहाँ बहुसंख्यक रथ चूर-चूर हो गये थे। उनकी बैठकें टूट- फूट गयी थीं। पहियोंके टुकड़े-टुकड़े हो गये थे। छत्र और ध्वज छिन्न-भिन्न होकर धरतीपर पड़े थे। अनुकर्ष, पताका, शिरस्त्राण, सुवर्णभूषित अंगदयुक्त चन्दनचर्चित भुजाएँ, हाथीकी सूँड़ तथा सर्पोंके शरीरके समान मोटे-मोटे ऊरु सब ओर बिखरे पड़े थे। नरेश्वर! मनुष्योंके विभिन्न अंगों तथा रथके पूर्वोक्त अवयवोंसे वहाँकी भूमि आच्छादित हो गयी थी || १३-- १५३ || शशाड्कसंनिभैश्वैव वदनैश्लारुकुण्डलै:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | prāyād droṇarathaṁ prepsur yuyudhānasya pṛṣṭhataḥ | ūrubhiḥ pṛthivī channā manujānāṁ narādhipa |

Translation

Sanjaya said: O king, when Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki), eager for battle, advanced toward your army, Dharmarāja Yudhiṣṭhira—surrounded by his own troops—followed close behind him, intending to confront Droṇa’s chariot. And, O lord of men, the earth there was covered with the thighs and limbs of fallen warriors—so great was the slaughter that the ground itself seemed hidden beneath human bodies. The passage underscores the grim moral cost of war: even when fought for a cause, the battlefield reveals the heavy burden of violence borne by all sides.

Word by Word

प्रायात्went forth, advanced

द्रोण-रथम्Drona's chariot

प्रेप्सुःdesiring to obtain/attack (to reach)

युयुधानस्यof Yuyudhana (Satyaki)

पृष्ठतःfrom behind, behind

ऊरुभिःwith thighs

पृथिवीthe earth

च्छन्नाcovered

मनुजानाम्of men, of humans

नराधिपO king (lord of men)

शशाङ्क-संनिभैःwith (things) resembling the moon

चand

एवindeed, just

वदनैःwith faces

अलार-कुण्डलैःwith (faces) having shining earrings

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by address narādhipa in context)

Yuyudhāna (Sātyaki)

Yudhiṣṭhira (Dharmarāja)

Droṇa

Droṇa’s chariot

Kaurava army (your army)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical gravity of war: even righteous leaders like Yudhiṣṭhira must act within kṣatriya duty, yet the battlefield’s devastation—bodies covering the earth—reminds the listener of violence’s immense human cost.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sātyaki (Yuyudhāna) charges toward the Kaurava forces. Yudhiṣṭhira, protected by his troops, follows behind him with the aim of meeting Droṇa’s chariot in battle. The scene is set amid intense slaughter, with the ground covered by fallen warriors’ limbs.