Shloka 72

Devanagari script

सो5भवद्‌ गिरिरत्युच्च: शिखरैस्तरुसंकटै:

Transliteration

so 'bhavad girir atyucchaḥ śikharais taru-saṅkaṭaiḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: It became like a mountain—exceedingly lofty—its peaks crowded and choked with trees, conveying the sense of a formidable, natural-looking mass rising up amid the turmoil of war.

Word by Word

• सः: he/that (one)
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अभवत्: became/was
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• गिरिः: mountain
• गिरिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अत्युच्चः: very high/exceedingly tall
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अत्युच्च
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• शिखरैः: with peaks/summits
• शिखरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिखर
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• तरु-संकटैः: dense/thick with trees
• तरु-संकटैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तरुसंकट
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• mountain (giri)
• peaks/summits (śikhara)
• trees (taru)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses a nature-simile to highlight how war can make human formations or scenes appear like overwhelming natural forces; it cautions the listener to recognize the sheer magnitude and danger of the moment rather than romanticizing violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes something on the battlefield as having become like a very high mountain, with peaks densely covered by trees—an image meant to convey towering height, density, and difficulty of approach.