Shloka 32
कृष्णेन अर्जुनस्य प्रोत्साहनम् — Kṛṣṇa’s Exhortation to Arjuna
Prelude to Karṇa’s Slaying
Devanagari script
मांसशोणितपड्किन्यो घोररूपा: सुदारुणा: । नदी: प्रवर्तयामासु: शोणितौघविवर्धिनी:
Transliteration
māṃsaśoṇitapaṅkinyo ghorarūpāḥ sudāruṇāḥ | nadīḥ pravartayāmāsuḥ śoṇitaughavivardhinīḥ ||
Translation
サンジャヤは言った。肉と血の泥が川底となった――凄惨にしてこの上なく恐ろしい――その河々が、そこに流れ出し、血潮の奔流によっていよいよ増し広がった。
Word by Word
मांसशोणितपङ्किन्यःmuddy with flesh and blood
मांसशोणितपङ्किन्यः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootमांस-शोणित-पङ्किनी
FormFeminine, Nominative, Plural
घोररूपाःof dreadful form
घोररूपाः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootघोररूप
FormFeminine, Nominative, Plural
सुदारुणाःvery terrible
सुदारुणाः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootसुदारुण
FormFeminine, Nominative, Plural
नद्यःrivers
नद्यः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootनदी
FormFeminine, Nominative, Plural
प्रवर्तयामासुःset in motion / caused to flow
प्रवर्तयामासुः:
Kriya
TypeVerb
Rootप्र√वृत् (प्रवर्तयति)
FormPerfect (Periphrastic), Third, Plural, Parasmaipada
शोणितौघविवर्धिनीःincreasing the torrent of blood
शोणितौघविवर्धिनीः:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootशोणित-ओघ-विवर्धिनी
FormFeminine, Accusative, Plural
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Characters & Entities
S
SañjayaR
rivers (nadīḥ)F
flesh (māṃsa)B
blood (śoṇita)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
The verse functions as a moral warning: when conflict abandons restraint and dharma, its consequences become monstrous—symbolized by rivers of blood and flesh—revealing the ethical cost of unchecked violence.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the horrific state of the battlefield: the slaughter is so immense that it is imagined as dreadful rivers flowing, thick with flesh and blood, their torrents increasing.