Shloka 54

Devanagari script

प्रामृदूनाच्च बहून्‌ योधान्‌ वायुर्वृक्षानिवौजसा । जैसे हवा अपने वेगसे वृक्षोंको उखाड़ फेंकती है, उसी प्रकार उस गदाने उस समय घोड़े, सारथि और ध्वजसहित द्रोणाचार्यके रथको चूर-चूर कर दिया और बहुत-से योद्धाओंको भी धूलमें मिला दिया ।। ५३ $ ।। त॑ पुनः परिवत्रुस्ते तव पुत्रा रथोत्तमम्‌,उस समय उस श्रेष्ठ महारथी वीरको आपके पुत्रोंने पुन- आकर चारों ओरसे घेर लिया। योद्धाओंमें श्रेष्ठ द्रोणाचार्य दूसरे रथपर बैठकर व्यूहके द्वारपर आ पहुँचे और युद्धके लिये उद्यत हो गये

Transliteration

sajaya uv01ca |

pr01m5d6bn01cca bah6bn yodh01n v01yur v5dk6301n ivaujasa |

Translation

Sanjaya said: With sheer force he crushed many warriors, just as the wind, by its own might, uproots trees. The image underscores the impersonal, sweeping violence of battle: strength, once unleashed, does not discriminate, and many lives are reduced to dust in an instant.

Word by Word

प्रामृदूनात्crushed, pulverized

चand

बहून्many

योधान्warriors

वायुःwind

वृक्षान्trees

इवlike, as

ओजसाwith force, by strength

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

warriors (yodh01)

wind (v01yu)

trees (v5dk63a)

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 how overwhelming force in war becomes impersonal and indiscriminate, sweeping away many lives at once. Ethically, it points to the tragic cost of martial power and the fragility of human life amid kshatriya conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes a warrior's devastating onslaught: many fighters are crushed, compared to trees uprooted by a powerful wind. It functions as a vivid battlefield simile emphasizing sudden, large-scale destruction.