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Shloka 3736

उपायैः पूर्ववधकथनम् / Strategic Justifications for Prior Eliminations

Devanagari script

भीरूणां त्रासजनने शूराणां हर्षवर्धने । महान्‌ शब्दसे मुखरित एवं भयंकर रात्रिका प्रथम पहर बीत रहा था, जो कायरोंको डरानेवाला और शूरवीरोंका हर्ष बढ़ानेवाला था

Transliteration

bhīrūṇāṃ trāsajanane śūrāṇāṃ harṣavardhane | mahān śabdaḥ sa mukharitaḥ evaṃ bhayaṅkarā rātrikā prathamaḥ paharaḥ bītaḥ āsa |

Translation

Sañjaya said: “That great, resounding uproar—terrifying to the timid yet heartening to the brave—filled the air. Thus, amid the dread of night and the tumult of battle, the first watch of the night passed.”

Word by Word

भीरूणाम्of the timid/cowards

त्रासजननेin producing fear/terror

शूराणाम्of the heroes/valiant

हर्षवर्धनेin increasing joy/exultation

महान्great

शब्दःsound/noise

मुखरितःresounding, made loud

एवम्thus, in this manner

भयंकरःterrible, fearsome

रात्रिकःnocturnal, of the night

प्रथमःfirst

पहरःwatch (of the night)

बीतःpassed, elapsed

रहःwas continuing/was going on

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

the night (rātri/rātrikā)

the great uproar/sound (mahān śabdaḥ)

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 same event—here, the thunderous din of war—affects people according to their inner disposition: it terrifies the fearful but invigorates the courageous. The verse highlights the ethical-psychological contrast between cowardice and valor within the kṣatriya context.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield at night: a tremendous, echoing clamor dominates the scene, and the first watch of the night passes in that frightening atmosphere, with the noise simultaneously demoralizing the timid and emboldening the heroes.