Shloka 49

Devanagari script

वध्यमाना महाराज पाण्डवेन यशस्विना । सैनिका न्यपतन्नुर्व्या वातनुन्ना इव द्रुमा:,महाराज! उन यशस्वी पाण्डुकुमारके द्वारा मारे जाते हुए आपके सैनिक आँधीके उखाड़े हुए वृक्षोंके समान धड़ाधड़ पृथ्वीपर गिर रहे थे

Transliteration

vadhyamānā mahārāja pāṇḍavena yaśasvinā | sainikā nyapatann urvyā vātanunnā iva drumāḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: O King, as they were being cut down by the illustrious Pāṇḍava, your soldiers kept collapsing onto the earth in rapid succession—like trees felled and hurled down by a driving storm. The image underscores the overwhelming force of the assault and the grim, impersonal momentum of war, where valor and duty unfold amid mass destruction.

Word by Word

वध्यमानाःbeing slain

महाराजO great king

पाण्डवेनby the Pandava

यशस्विनाby the glorious/famed (one)

सैनिकाःsoldiers

न्यपतन्fell down

उर्व्याम्on the earth/ground

वातनुन्नाःdriven/impelled by the wind

इवlike/as if

द्रुमाःtrees

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'mahārāja')

Pāṇḍava (unspecified)

Kaurava soldiers (implied by 'your soldiers')

Earth (urvī)

Wind/storm (vāta)

Trees (drumāḥ)

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 the devastating, almost natural-force-like momentum of battle: when adharma-driven conflict escalates, individual lives can be swept away en masse. Ethically, it evokes reflection on the cost of war and the fragility of embodied life, even while acknowledging the kṣatriya context of martial duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the king’s troops are being slain by a renowned Pāṇḍava warrior and are falling to the ground one after another, compared to trees toppled by a powerful windstorm.