Shloka 5

Śalya–Bhīma Gadā-saṃnipāta and Śalya’s Bāṇa-jāla against Yudhiṣṭhira

Book 9, Chapter 11

Devanagari script

प्राणादाने महाघोरे वर्तमाने दुरोदरे । संग्रामे घोररूपे तु यमराष्ट्रविवर्धने,संजय कहते हैं--महाराज! उस महासमरमें जब दोनों पक्षोंकी सेनाएँ परस्परकी मार खाकर भयसे व्याकुल हो उठीं, दोनों दलोंके योद्धा पलायन करने लगे, हाथी चिग्घाड़ने तथा पैदल सैनिक कराहने और चिल्लाने लगे; बहुत-से घोड़े मारे गये, सम्पूर्ण देहधारियोंका घोर भयंकर एवं विनाशकारी संहार होने लगा, नाना प्रकारके अस्त्र-शस्त्र परस्पर टकराने लगे, रथ और हाथी एक-दूसरेसे उलझ गये, युद्धकुशल योद्धाओंका हर्ष और कायरोंका भय बढ़ानेवाला संग्राम होने लगा, एक-दूसरेके वधकी इच्छासे उभयपक्षकी सेनाओंमें दोनों दलोंके योद्धा प्रवेश करने लगे, प्राणोंकी बाजी लगाकर महाभयंकर युद्धका जूआ आरम्भ हो गया तथा यमराजके राज्यकी वृद्धि करनेवाला घोर संग्राम चलने लगा, उस समय पाण्डव अपने तीखे बाणोंसे आपकी सेनाका संहार करने लगे। इसी प्रकार आपके योद्धा भी पाण्डव-सैनिकोंके वधर्में प्रवृत्त हो गये

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

prāṇādāne mahāghore vartamāne durādare |

saṅgrāme ghorarūpe tu yamarāṣṭravivardhane ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O King, when that dreadful exchange of lives was underway—hard to endure—in the battle of terrifying form that swells the realm of Yama (Death), the war turned into a ruthless slaughter. Warriors pressed into one another with the intent to kill; fear and exhilaration rose according to each man’s nature; and the conflict, wagering life itself, advanced as a grim engine of destruction.”

Word by Word

प्राणादानेin the taking away of life (life-taking)

महाघोरेvery dreadful

वर्तमानेwhile occurring/going on

दुरोदरेhard to escape/ill-fated (lit. difficult-belly/exit)

संग्रामेin battle

घोररूपेof dreadful form

तुbut/indeed

यमराष्ट्रविवर्धनेincreasing Yama's realm (i.e., causing many deaths)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by address 'O King')

Yama

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 frames war as an extreme moral and existential crisis: battle is an ‘exchange of lives’ that inevitably enlarges Death’s domain. It underscores the ethical gravity of violence and the tragic cost that accompanies kṣatriya warfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the king that the fighting has intensified into a terrifying, hard-to-endure slaughter—combatants pressing in with lethal intent, and the battlefield becoming a scene that metaphorically ‘increases Yama’s kingdom’ through mounting deaths.