Shloka 49

Devanagari script

विप्रकीर्णान्यनेकानि न हि तिष्ठन्ति कर्हिचित्‌ | वातेनेव समुद्धूतमभ्रजालं विदीर्यते

Transliteration

viprakīrṇāny anekāni na hi tiṣṭhanti karhicit | vāteneva samuddhūtam abhra-jālaṁ vidīryate

Translation

Sañjaya said: “When scattered in many directions, they do not hold their ground at any time. Like a mass of clouds driven up by the wind, they are torn apart and dispersed.”

Word by Word

विप्रकीर्णानिscattered, dispersed

अनेकानिmany

नnot

हिindeed, for

तिष्ठन्तिstand, remain

कर्हिever, at any time

चित्at all (enclitic, with indefinites)

वातेनby the wind

इवlike, as if

समुद्धूतम्raised up, blown up

अभ्रजालम्mass/net of clouds

विदीर्यतेis torn apart, breaks up

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

wind

mass of clouds (abhrajāla)

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?

A force that loses cohesion cannot remain steady; once unity and discipline break, collapse spreads quickly—like clouds torn apart by wind. The verse underscores the ethical and strategic value of steadiness, order, and collective resolve in crisis.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes troops (or a formation) becoming scattered and unable to hold position. He uses a vivid simile: wind-driven clouds breaking apart, conveying the battlefield’s sudden disarray and the unraveling of an army’s formation.