Shloka 583

धृष्टद्युम्नस्य द्रोणरथारोহণं सात्यकेः प्रतिरक्षणं च | Dhrishtadyumna Boards Droṇa’s Chariot; Sātyaki’s Counter-Protection

Devanagari script

सहस्रधा वधू दृष्टवा रुदतीं शोककर्शिताम्‌ | “निश्चय ही मेरा हृदय वज़्सारका बना हुआ है, जो शोकसे कातर हुई बहू उत्तराको रोती देखकर सहखसों टुकड़ोंमें विदीर्ण नहीं हो जाता?

Transliteration

sahasradhā vadhūṃ dṛṣṭvā rudatīṃ śokakarśitām | niścayaṃ hi me hṛdayaṃ vajrasārakaṃ banaṃ bhūtaṃ yat śokase kātarāṃ vadhūm uttarāṃ rotīṃ dṛṣṭvā sahasraśo ṭukḍoṃ meṃ vidīrṇaṃ na bhavati ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Surely my heart must have become hard as adamant; for when I behold the young bride Uttarā, worn down by grief and weeping, it does not shatter into a thousand pieces.”

Word by Word

• सहस्रधा: into a thousand parts; a thousandfold
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहस्रधा
• Form: Avyaya (adverb)

• वधूः: daughter-in-law
• वधूः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वधू
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Absolutive (क्त्वा), indeclinable

• रुदतीम्: weeping
• रुदतीम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रुदत्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular (present active participle of रुद्)

• शोककर्शिताम्: worn down/afflicted by grief
• शोककर्शिताम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शोककर्शित
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular (past passive participle of कर्ष् with उपसर्ग implied by sense)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Uttarā

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical weight of war’s aftermath: true sensitivity is measured not by victory but by the capacity to feel others’ suffering. A heart that does not break at innocent grief is portrayed as unnaturally hardened.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes witnessing Uttarā, a young bride, crying and weakened by sorrow. He remarks that his own heart must be like adamant because it does not split apart on seeing her grief—underscoring the tragic human cost surrounding the events of the war.