Shloka 38

Droṇa’s Withdrawal, Death, and the Kaurava Rout (द्रोणनिधन-प्रसङ्गः)

Devanagari script

गभस्तिभिम्मध्यगतो यथार्को वर्षात्यये तद्धदभून्नरेन्द्र

Transliteration

gabhastibhirmadhyagato yathārko varṣātyaye taddhadabhūnnarendra

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O king, it became like the sun standing amid its own rays at the end of the rainy season—clear, blazing, and unmistakable.”

Word by Word

• गभस्तिभिः: with rays
• गभस्तिभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गभस्ति
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• मध्यगतः: gone to the middle; standing in mid-(sky)
• मध्यगतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मध्य-गत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• यथा: as, like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• अर्कः: the sun
• अर्कः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्क
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वर्षात्यये: at the end of the rainy season
• वर्षात्यये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर्ष-अत्यय
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• तद्वत्: so, likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद्वत्

• अभूत्: became; was
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Aorist (Luṅ), 3rd, Singular

• नरेन्द्रः: the king; lord of men
• नरेन्द्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर-इन्द्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• नरेन्द्र (the king, i.e., Dhṛtarāṣṭra)
• अर्क (the Sun)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses a natural simile—sunlight after the rains—to suggest that when obscuring conditions pass, reality becomes starkly visible. Ethically, it hints that in war and crisis, confusion may dominate for a time, but consequences and truth eventually stand out with unavoidable clarity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the king using a vivid comparison: something on the battlefield (a sight or situation just described) appears as striking and clear as the sun amid its rays when the rainy season ends, emphasizing heightened visibility and intensity at that moment.