Shloka 57

Devanagari script

हाहाकारो महानासीत्‌ तव सैन्यस्य मारिष

Transliteration

hāhākāro mahān āsīt tava sainyasya māriṣa

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O venerable one, a great cry of anguish arose within your army.”

Word by Word

• हाहाकारः: a cry of lamentation; uproar
• हाहाकारः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: हाहाकार
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महान्: great
• महान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• आसीत्: was
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), Third, Singular

• तव: of you; your
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Singular

• सैन्यस्य: of the army
• Type: Noun
• Root: सैन्य
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• मारिष: O venerable one; O sir
• Type: Noun
• Root: मारिष
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Kaurava army (tava sainya)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the human cost of war: when violence escalates, even a powerful army is overtaken by fear and grief. It implicitly warns that choices rooted in adharma culminate in collective suffering.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a tremendous outcry erupted among the Kaurava forces, indicating sudden shock, panic, or mourning in response to a severe battlefield event.