Shloka 31

Chapter 30: Formation Disruption, Competing War-Cries, and Nīla’s Fall

Droṇa-parva

Devanagari script

नापश्याम ततत्त्वेनं सैन्ये वै रजसावृते

Transliteration

nāpaśyāma tatattvenaṃ sainye vai rajasāvṛte

Translation

サンジャヤは言った。「戦塵に覆われたその軍勢の中では、彼をその真のありさまと位置において明らかに見定めることができなかった。戦の混乱が正確な見極めを遮り、騒乱のただ中で確信を得るのは難しかった。」

Word by Word

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अपश्याम: I saw
• अपश्याम: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 1st, Singular, Parasmaipada

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तत्त्वेन: in truth / truly
• तत्त्वेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तत्त्व
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• सैन्ये: in the army
• सैन्ये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सैन्य
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• वै: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वै

• रजसा: by dust
• रजसा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रजस्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• आवृते: covered / enveloped
• आवृते: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आवृत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• army (sainya)
• dust (rajas)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how the conditions of conflict—dust, agitation, and chaos—distort perception. Ethically, it suggests caution in judgment during turmoil: when clarity is obstructed, certainty about persons and events becomes unreliable.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, amid the dust-choked battlefield and the press of armies, they could not clearly make out the person being referred to (him) in a definite, truthful way.