Shloka 139

Devanagari script

व्यात्तानना घोरजिद्दा: क्रोधताम्रेक्षणा भृशम्‌ | सिंहनादेन महता नादयन्तो वसुन्धराम्‌

Transliteration

vyāttānanā ghorajiddhāḥ krodhatāmrekṣaṇā bhṛśam | siṃhanādena mahatā nādayanto vasundharām ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: With mouths gaping wide, fierce and dreadful in aspect, their eyes reddened with rage, they roared with a mighty lion-like cry, making the very earth resound. The scene underscores how anger and battle-fury can swell into a collective force that shakes the world, eclipsing restraint and dharma in the heat of war.

Word by Word

व्यात्ताननाःhaving gaping/open mouths

घोरजिद्दाःhaving terrible tongues

क्रोधताम्रेक्षणाःwith eyes reddened by anger

भृशम्exceedingly, greatly

सिंहनादेनwith a lion-roar

महताgreat, mighty

नादयन्तःcausing to resound, roaring

वसुन्धराम्the earth

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Vasundharā (the Earth)

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 unchecked anger (krodha) amplifies violence and overwhelms restraint; in the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, such battle-fury can eclipse discernment and push warriors away from measured, dharmic conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes warriors in a heightened state of combat—mouths agape, eyes red with rage—raising a massive lion-like roar that makes the earth seem to tremble, signaling the escalation and terror of the battlefield.