Shloka 20
Droṇa Encircled at Night: Coalition Advance and Battlefield Omens (द्रोणपर्यावरणं रात्रियुद्धवर्णनम्)
Devanagari script
त॑ श्रुत्वा निनदं घोरें त्रैलेक्यत्रासनं महत्
Transliteration
taṁ śrutvā ninadaṁ ghoreṁ trailokyatrāsanaṁ mahat
Translation
ಸಂಜಯನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ತ್ರೈಲೋಕ್ಯವನ್ನೇ ಭಯಪಡಿಸಬಲ್ಲ ಆ ಘೋರ ಘರ್ಜನೆಯನ್ನು ಕೇಳಿ ಯೋಧರು ಕದಡಿದರು।
Word by Word
तत्that
तत्:
Karma
TypePronoun
Rootतद्
Formneuter, accusative, singular
श्रुत्वाhaving heard
श्रुत्वा:
TypeVerb
Rootश्रु
Formक्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), parasmaipada (usage-neutral here)
निनदम्roar, loud sound
निनदम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootनिनद
Formmasculine, accusative, singular
घोरम्terrible
घोरम्:
TypeAdjective
Rootघोर
Formmasculine, accusative, singular
त्रैलेक्यत्रासनम्terror (that) frightens the three worlds
त्रैलेक्यत्रासनम्:
TypeNoun
Rootत्रैलेक्य-त्रासन
Formneuter, accusative, singular
महत्great, huge
महत्:
TypeAdjective
Rootमहत्
Formneuter, accusative, singular
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Characters & Entities
S
SanjayaT
the three worlds (trailokya)R
roar/sound (ninada)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 highlights how violence and aggression in war generate fear that spreads beyond individuals, symbolically shaking the entire moral and cosmic order; it cautions that actions in battle have consequences that reverberate widely.
Sanjaya describes a terrifying, immense roar arising on the battlefield—so intense it is poetically said to frighten the three worlds—signaling a climactic escalation in the fighting.