Shloka 4

Devanagari script

रजस्वला वेपमाना वीक्षमाणा दिशो दश । अश्रुकण्ठा यथा दैत्या हिरण्याक्षे पुरा हते,पूर्वकालमें हिरण्याक्षके मारे जानेपर दैत्योंकी जैसी अवस्था हुई थी, वैसी ही उनकी भी हो गयी। वे धूल-धूसर शरीरसे काँपते हुए दसों दिशाओंकी ओर देख रहे थे। आँसुओंसे उनका गला भर आया

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

rajasvalā vepamānā vīkṣamāṇā diśo daśa |

aśrukaṇṭhā yathā daityā hiraṇyākṣe purā hate ||

Translation

サンジャヤは言った。「塵にまみれ、恐怖に震えながら、彼らは十方の方角を見回し続けた。涙が喉を詰まらせた――それは、太古にヒラニヤークシャが討たれたときのダイティヤたちの有様そのままであった。」

Word by Word

रजस्वलाdust-covered (lit. having dust/rajas)

वेपमानाtrembling

वीक्षमाणाlooking, gazing

दिशःdirections

दशten

अश्रुकण्ठाwhose throat is choked with tears

यथाas, just as

दैत्याDaityas (demons)

हिरण्याक्षेin/when (the demon) Hiraṇyākṣa

पुराformerly, once

हतेwhen slain, upon being killed

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Daityas

Hiraṇyākṣa

ten directions (diśaḥ daśa)

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 and psychological reality that war’s violence shatters inner steadiness: when a central protector falls, collective courage can collapse into fear and grief. It implicitly warns that power and pride are fragile, and that leadership carries the moral weight of sustaining others’ resolve.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes warriors (contextually, those on the battlefield) as dust-covered and trembling, anxiously scanning all directions, their voices choked with tears. He compares their condition to the Daityas’ despair after the ancient slaying of Hiraṇyākṣa, emphasizing sudden panic and mourning after a major loss.