Shloka 40

Devanagari script

शिरो रथे<स्य निक्षिप्प विकृताननमूर्थजम्‌ । प्राणदद्‌ भैरवं नादं प्रावषीव बलाहक:ः

Transliteration

śiro rathe 'sya nikṣipya vikṛtānana-mūrdhajam | prāṇadad bhairavaṃ nādaṃ prāvṛṣīva balāhakaḥ ||

Translation

サञ्जयは語った。彼はその首を戦車の上へ投げ捨てた――顔も髪も醜く歪み――そして、雨季の始まりに雨雲が轟くような、恐るべき咆哮を放った。この光景は戦の道義的恐怖を際立たせる。勇士の落命さえも戦慄の見世物となり、恐怖と暴力が自制と慈悲を押し流してしまうのである。

Word by Word

शिरःhead

रथेon/in the chariot

अस्यof him/this (his)

निक्षिप्यhaving placed/laid down

विकृतdistorted, disfigured

आननface

मूर्धजम्hair (born on the head)

प्राणदत्uttering, giving forth

भैरवम्terrible, frightful

नादम्roar, sound

प्रावर्षिrained down, poured forth

इवlike, as if

बलाहकःcloud

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

chariot (ratha)

head (śiraḥ)

rain-cloud (balāhaka)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical darkness of war: death and mutilation become instruments of terror. It implicitly warns that when dharma collapses in battle, human dignity is eclipsed by fear, and violence multiplies through intimidation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a severed head being thrown onto a chariot; its distorted face and hair are noted for their gruesomeness. A dreadful roar is heard, compared to the thunder of a monsoon cloud, intensifying the atmosphere of panic and brutality on the battlefield.