Shloka 43

Devanagari script

सुषुपुस्तत्र राजेन्द्र युक्ता वाहेषु सर्वश: । एवं हयाश्ष नागाश्न योधाश्ष भरतर्षभ । युद्धाद्‌ विरम्य सुषुपु: श्रमेण महतान्विता

Transliteration

suṣupus tatra rājendra yuktā vāheṣu sarvaśaḥ | evaṃ hayāś ca nāgāś ca yodhāś ca bharatarṣabha | yuddhād viramya suṣupuḥ śrameṇa mahatānvitāḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: O king, there they slept—everywhere—still harnessed to their teams. Thus the horses, the elephants, and the warriors too, O bull of the Bharatas, having withdrawn from the fighting, fell asleep, overcome by great exhaustion. The verse underscores the human and animal cost of war: even without moral reflection, the body’s limits impose a forced pause, revealing how relentless conflict reduces all—fighters and beasts alike—to fatigue and vulnerability.

Word by Word

सुषुपुःslept

तत्रthere

राजेन्द्रO king of kings

युक्ताःyoked / harnessed

वाहेषुin/at the vehicles (chariots, mounts)

सर्वशःeverywhere / in every way

एवम्thus

हयाःhorses

नागाःelephants

चand

योधाःwarriors

चand

भरतर्षभO bull among the Bharatas

युद्धात्from the battle

विरम्यhaving ceased / having desisted

सुषुपुःslept

श्रमेनwith fatigue / due to exertion

महताgreat

अन्विताःendowed with / accompanied by

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by rājendra)

Bharatas (dynastic epithet)

horses

elephants

warriors

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Geographic Context

Sandhi Notes