Shloka 81

युधिष्ठिरस्य धनंजय-प्रति गर्हा

Yudhiṣṭhira’s Reproach to Dhanaṃjaya

Devanagari script

तथा वर्तति संग्रामे गजवाजिनरक्षये

Transliteration

tathā vartati saṅgrāme gajavājinarakṣaye

Translation

サञ्जयは言った。「戦はそのままの様相で続き――象と馬と人とを滅ぼす猛攻となった。人・馬・象の屍体から血の川が流れ出し、その流れは倒れ伏した無数の象、馬、戦士の亡骸を内に抱いて押し流していった。」

Word by Word

• तथा: thus, in that manner
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• वर्तति: goes on, proceeds, continues
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृत्
• Form: Lat, present, 3, singular, Atmanepada

• संग्रामे: in the battle
• संग्रामे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संग्राम
• Form: masculine, locative, singular

• गजवाजिनरक्षये: for the destruction of elephants, horses, and men
• गजवाजिनरक्षये: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज-वाजि-नर-क्षय
• Form: masculine, dative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• battlefield (saṅgrāma)
• elephants (gaja)
• horses (vāji)
• men/warriors (nara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the ethical and human cost of war: when conflict escalates, it consumes all—men and animals alike—revealing the impermanence of life and the tragic consequences of unchecked violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battle intensifying into wholesale slaughter. The imagery of a river of blood carrying numerous corpses conveys the scale of devastation among elephants, horses, and warriors.