Shloka 2

Devanagari script

ध्वजद्रुमं शस्त्रशुड्रंं हतनागमहाशिलम्‌ । अश्वकिम्पुरुषाकीर्ण शरासनलतावृतम्‌,उसने शत्रु-सैनिकोंको भल्लोंसे मार-मारकर उनकी लाशोंका पहाड़-जैसा ढेर लगा दिया। ध्वजाएँ उस पहाड़के वृक्ष, शस्त्र उसके शिखर और मारे गये हाथी उसकी बड़ी-बड़ी शिलाओंके समान थे। घोड़े मानो उस पर्वतपर निवास करनेवाले किम्पुरुष थे। धनुष लताओंके समान फैलकर उसपर छाये हुए थे। मांसभक्षी जीव-जन्तु मानो वहाँ चहचहानेवाले पक्षी थे और भूतोंके समुदाय उसपर विहार करनेवाले यक्ष जान पड़ते थे

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | dhvajadrumaṁ śastraśṛṅgaṁ hatanāgamahāśilam | aśvakimpuruṣākīrṇaṁ śarāsanalatāvṛtam |

Translation

サンジャヤは言った。「戦場は一つの山のように見えた。木々は旗印と幟、峰は武器、巨岩は討たれた大象の大きな屍であった。そこは山に住むキンプルシャのごとく馬で満ち、弓と弓弦が蔓草のように広がって覆っていた。」

Word by Word

ध्वजद्रुमम्a banner-tree (i.e., having banners as trees)

शस्त्रशृङ्गम्having weapons as peaks/horns

हतनागमहाशिलम्having great rocks in the form of slain elephants

अश्वकिम्पुरुषाकीर्णम्strewn with horses (like) kimpuruṣas

शरासनलतावृतम्covered with bow-vines (i.e., bows spread like creepers)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

dhvaja (banners/standards)

śastra (weapons)

nāga (elephants)

aśva (horses)

kimpuruṣa (mythic beings)

śarāsana (bows/archery gear)

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?

Through an extended simile—battlefield as a mountain made of banners, weapons, and dead elephants—the verse highlights how warfare reshapes reality into a grotesque ‘natural’ scene. The ethical undertone is cautionary: even when framed as duty, violence can normalize death and obscure human suffering behind grand imagery.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports the scene of intense fighting: the ground is piled with slain elephants and strewn with weapons; banners stand like trees; horses move about like mythical kimpuruṣas; bows and archery-gear seem to cover the field like creeping vines. It is a vivid snapshot of the battlefield’s aftermath and ongoing chaos.