Shloka 31

Devanagari script

उस समय बिना सिरके धड़ और बिना धड़के सिर समस्त रणभूमिको आच्छादित करके बिखरे पड़े थे ।। श्वगृध्रकड़ककाकोलभासगोमायुवायसा: । अतृप्य॑ंस्तत्र वीराणां हतानां मांसशोणितै:,वहाँ मारे गये वीरोंके मांस तथा रक्तसे कुत्ते, गीध, कंक (सफेद चीलें), काकोल (पहाड़ी कौए) चीलें, गीदड़ और कौए तृप्त हो रहे थे

Transliteration

tatra śvagṛdhrakaṅkakākolabhāsagomāyuvāyasāḥ atṛpyanta vīrāṇāṃ hatānāṃ māṃsaśoṇitaiḥ |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: There, dogs, vultures, kaṅkas (white kites), kākolas (mountain crows), bhāsas (kites), jackals, and crows fed without satiety on the flesh and blood of the slain heroes. The battlefield, strewn with severed heads and headless trunks, became a grim witness to the ethical cost of violence—where valor ends in carrion and the fruits of adharma are consumed by beasts and birds.

Word by Word

• श्वगृध्रकङ्ककाकोलभासगोमायुवायसाः: dogs, vultures, herons/kites, mountain-crows, (a bird) kākola-bhāsa, jackals, and crows
• श्वगृध्रकङ्ककाकोलभासगोमायुवायसाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वन् + गृध्र + कङ्क + काकोलभास + गोमायु + वायस
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• अतृप्यन्: were not satiated / kept feeding without being satisfied
• Type: Verb
• Root: तृप्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र

• वीराणाम्: of the heroes/warriors
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीर
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• हतानाम्: of the slain
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हन् (हत)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• मांसशोणितैः: with flesh and blood
• मांसशोणितैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मांस + शोणित
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• battlefield (raṇabhūmi)
• dogs (śva)
• vultures (gṛdhra)
• kaṅka birds
• kākola birds
• bhāsa birds
• jackals (gomāyu)
• crows (vāyasa)
• slain warriors (vīrāḥ hatāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the moral and existential cost of violence: even ‘heroes’ end as bodies consumed by scavengers, reminding the listener that warfare—especially when driven by adharma—reduces human glory to impermanence and suffering.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a battlefield aftermath where severed bodies lie scattered, and scavenging animals and birds feed endlessly on the flesh and blood of the fallen warriors.