Shloka 18

Cakravyūha-saṃkalpaḥ, Saṃśaptaka-āhvānaṃ, Saubhadra-vikrīḍitam

Drona Parva, Adhyāya 32

Devanagari script

गृध्रपत्राधिवासांसि शयनानि नराधिपा:

Transliteration

gṛdhrapatrādhivāsāṃsi śayanāni narādhipāḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O kings, their beds and resting-places were furnished with coverings made of vulture-feathers.”

Word by Word

• गृध्रपत्राधिवासांसि: coverings/garments made of vulture-feathers
• गृध्रपत्राधिवासांसि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृध्रपत्राधिवास
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• शयनानि: beds, sleeping-places
• शयनानि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शयन
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• नराधिपाः: O kings (lords of men)
• नराधिपाः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नराधिप
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• narādhipāḥ (kings)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the harsh, dehumanizing conditions produced by war: even those of royal status are reduced to crude, uncomfortable arrangements. It implicitly warns that violence strips life of dignity and normal comforts, highlighting the ethical cost of conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing to the kings the grim material conditions surrounding the warriors—specifically their bedding and coverings—using the striking detail of vulture-feather coverings to convey a battlefield atmosphere marked by death, scarcity, and discomfort.