Shloka 18

Devanagari script

हाथीकी सूँड़के समान बहुत-सी भुजाएँ कटकर धरती-पर उछलती, लोटती और भयंकर वेग प्रकट करती थीं ।। शिरसां च महाराज पततां धरणीतले । च्युतानामिव तालेभ्यस्तालानां श्रूयते स्वन:,महाराज! पृथ्वीपर गिरते हुए मस्तकोंका शब्द, ताड़के वृक्षोंसे चूकर गिरे हुए फलोंके धमाकेकी आवाजके समान सुनायी देता था

Transliteration

śirasāṃ ca mahārāja patatāṃ dharaṇītale | cyutānām iva tālebhyaḥ tālānāṃ śrūyate svanaḥ ||

Translation

サンジャヤは言った。象の鼻のような腕が幾つも斬り落とされ、地に跳ね、転がり、凄まじい勢いをなお示していた。大王よ、頭が大地へ落ちるときの音は、椰子の木から実が落ちる重い衝撃音のように聞こえた。

Word by Word

शिरसाम्of (the) heads

चand

महाराजO great king

पतताम्of (those) falling

धरणीतलेon the surface of the earth

च्युतानाम्of (those) fallen/dropped

इवas if/like

तालेभ्यःfrom palm trees

तालानाम्of palm(-fruits)

श्रूयतेis heard

स्वनःsound/noise

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Mahārāja (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

dharaṇī (earth/ground)

tāla (palm tree)

tāla-phala (palm fruit)

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 does not preach directly, but its stark simile highlights the human cost of war: life and identity (symbolized by the head) are reduced to falling objects. It implicitly presses the ethical tension in kṣatriya-dharma—duty in battle versus the grievous suffering battle produces.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: severed heads are falling to the ground, and the thudding sound is compared to palm fruits dropping from palm trees, intensifying the scene’s horror and realism.