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Shloka 73

दुःशासन-सहदेव-संक्षोभः; भीम-राधेय-गदायुद्धम्; द्रोण-पार्थ-अस्त्रसंग्रामः

Duhshasana–Sahadeva Clash; Bhima–Karna Mace Exchange; Drona–Arjuna Astra Duel

रराज वसुधा55कीर्णा विसर्पद्धिरिवोरगै: । हाथियोंके शुण्डदण्ड कटकर इधर-उधर तड़पते हुए ऐसे प्रतीत हो रहे थे, मानो सर्प चल रहे हों। उनके द्वारा आच्छादित हुई वहाँकी भूमि अद्भुत शोभा पा रही थी

rarāja vasudhā kīrṇā visarpadbhir ivoragaiḥ |

サञ्जयは語った。大地は不思議な輝きを放ち、切り落とされた象の鼻が至るところに散り敷かれていた。四方に散らばり、うねりながら横たわるそれらは、まるで蛇が這うかのように見えた——畏怖を誘いながらも凄惨な光景であり、戦の残酷な代価と、それを遂行する者が負う道義の重さを示している。

रराजshone, was resplendent
रराज:
Karta
TypeVerb
Rootराज् (धातु)
Formलिट् (परोक्षभूत/परफेक्ट), प्रथम, एकवचन, परस्मैपद
वसुधाthe earth, ground
वसुधा:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootवसुधा (प्रातिपदिक)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन
कीर्णाstrewn, covered (with)
कीर्णा:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootकीर्ण (कृदन्त; √कॄ/किर् ‘to scatter, strew’)
Formस्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन
विसर्पद्भिःby/with creeping (ones)
विसर्पद्भिः:
Karana
TypeAdjective
Rootविसर्पत् (कृदन्त; √सृप् ‘to creep’ with वि-)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन
इवas if, like
इव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootइव
उरगैःby/with serpents
उरगैः:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootउरग (प्रातिपदिक)
Formपुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

संयज उवाच

S
Sañjaya
E
earth (vasudhā)
E
elephants
E
elephant trunks (śuṇḍā-daṇḍa)
S
serpents (uraga)

Educational Q&A

The verse uses a vivid simile—severed elephant-trunks resembling crawling serpents—to highlight the horrifying reality of battle. It implicitly presses an ethical reflection: even when war is framed as dharma-yuddha, its visible fruits are suffering and destruction, demanding moral seriousness and restraint.

Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene: the ground is covered with cut-off elephant trunks that twitch and writhe, making the earth appear strangely ‘beautiful’ in a terrible way, like it is filled with moving snakes.