Shloka 39

Devanagari script

निकृत्तचर्मकवचान्‌ शकृन्मूत्रासृगाप्लुतान्‌ । निपातयजन्नश्ववरांस्तावकान्‌ स व्यरोचत

Transliteration

nikṛttacarmakavacān śakṛnmūtrāsṛgāplutān | nipātayajann aśvavarāṁs tāvakān sa vyarocat ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Cutting down your finest horses—stripped of their protective hide and armor and drenched in dung, urine, and blood—he kept felling them, and in that grim work he shone forth. The verse underscores how battlefield “glory” is inseparable from horrific bodily reality, exposing the ethical cost of martial prowess.

Word by Word

निकृत्तcut off, severed

चर्मskin, hide

कवचान्armours

शकृत्with excrement

मूत्रwith urine

असृक्with blood

आप्लुतान्drenched, soaked

निपातयन्causing to fall, striking down

अश्ववरान्excellent horses

तावकान्your (i.e., of your side)

सःhe

विरोचतshone forth, appeared splendid

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Kaurava forces (tāvakāḥ)

horses (aśvāḥ)

armor (kavaca)

hide/leather (carma)

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 juxtaposes martial brilliance with the degrading physical realities of war—blood, excrement, and ruin—inviting reflection on the ethical and human cost behind celebrated battlefield prowess.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a warrior (unnamed in this verse) cutting down the Kauravas’ best horses; the animals’ coverings and armor are torn away, and they are soaked in bodily fluids, yet the warrior is said to ‘shine’ amid the slaughter.