Shloka 30

ध्वजवर्णनम् | Dhvaja-varṇanam

Description of War Standards

Devanagari script

श्वो नरेन्द्रसहस्राणि राजपुत्रशतानि च

Transliteration

śvo narendrasahasrāṇi rājaputraśatāni ca

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Tomorrow, thousands of kings and hundreds of princes as well…”

Word by Word

• श्वः: tomorrow
• श्वः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: श्वस् (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक)

• नरेन्द्रसहस्राणि: thousands of kings
• नरेन्द्रसहस्राणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरेन्द्र + सहस्र
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• राजपुत्रशतानि: hundreds of princes
• राजपुत्रशतानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजपुत्र + शत
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (समुच्चयार्थक)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• kings (narendra)
• princes (rājaputra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line underscores the vast scale of royal participation in war and implicitly points to the fragility of worldly power: even kings and princes are swept into the consequences of conflict, reminding readers of impermanence and the ethical weight of decisions that lead to mass suffering.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, reporting events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, anticipates the next day’s developments in the battle, indicating that immense numbers of rulers and royal heirs will be involved—setting a tone of impending large-scale engagement and loss.