Shloka 29

Devanagari script

असृड्मांसवसाभिश्च तृप्तिमभ्यागता गदा । अस्थीन्यप्यश्नती तस्थौ कालरात्रीव दुर्दुशा,वह गदा दुर्लक्ष्य कालरात्रिके समान शत्रुओंके रक्त, मांस और चर्बीसे तृप्त होकर उनकी हड्डियोंको भी चबाये जा रही थी

Transliteration

asṛg-māṁsa-vasābhiś ca tṛptim abhyāgatā gadā | asthīny apy aśnatī tasthau kālarātrīva durduśā ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: The mace, having reached satiety on blood, flesh, and fat, stood there still—gnawing even the bones—terrible to behold, like Kālarātrī herself. The image underscores how, in the frenzy of war, weapons become extensions of death, consuming not only bodies but also the moral order that should restrain violence.

Word by Word

असृक्with blood

मांसwith flesh

वसाwith fat

भिःby/with (instr. pl. ending)

तृप्तिम्satiation, satisfaction

अभ्यागताhaving attained, having reached

गदाthe mace

अस्थीनिbones

अपिeven, also

अश्नतीeating, devouring

तस्थौstood, remained

कालरात्रिःKālarātri (Night of Doom)

इवlike, as if

दुर्दुशाhard to look at, dreadful in appearance

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

gadā (mace)

Kālarātrī

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 uses a stark simile to warn how war, once unleashed, becomes indiscriminate and insatiable—symbolized by a weapon ‘sated’ yet still devouring. Ethically, it highlights the collapse of restraint (dama) and compassion (dayā) when violence is normalized, pointing to the adharma that shadows even justified conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield aftermath in vivid, personifying language: a mace is portrayed as if it were a living devourer, satisfied by blood and flesh yet still gnawing bones, and is compared to Kālarātrī, the embodiment of doom. The focus is on the terrifying spectacle and the scale of destruction.