Shloka 36

अध्याय १४८ — कर्णप्रभावः, धृष्टद्युम्नस्य विरथता, तथा घटोत्कच-आह्वानम्

Chapter 148: Karṇa’s Pressure, Dhṛṣṭadyumna Unhorsed, and the Summoning of Ghaṭotkaca

Devanagari script

गृध्रोदग्रमहाग्राहां शिवाविरुतभैरवाम्‌ । नृत्यत्प्रेतपिशाचाद्यैर्भूताकीर्णा सहस्रश:

Transliteration

gṛdhrodagramahāgrāhāṃ śivāvirutabhairavām | nṛtyatpreta-piśācādyair bhūtākīrṇā sahasraśaḥ ||

Translation

ಆ ಸ್ಥಳ ಗೃಧ್ರಗಳು ಮತ್ತು ಉಗ್ರ ಮಹಾಗ್ರಾಹಗಳಿಂದ ತುಂಬಿತ್ತು; ನರಿ (ಶಿವಾ)ಗಳ ಭಯಾನಕ ಕೂಗುಗಳಿಂದ ಅದು ಇನ್ನಷ್ಟು ಭೀತಿಕರವಾಗಿತ್ತು. ನೃತ್ಯಿಸುವ ಪ್ರೇತ-ಪಿಶಾಚಾದಿ ಭೂತಗಳಿಂದ ಅದು ಸಾವಿರಾರು ಸಂಖ್ಯೆಯಲ್ಲಿ ಆವರಿತವಾಗಿತ್ತು।

Word by Word

गृध्र-उदग्र-महा-ग्राहाम्having huge crocodiles (as if) with vultures towering (i.e., very formidable with great crocodiles)

शिवा-विरुत-भैरवाम्terrifying with the howling of jackals

नृत्यत्-प्रेत-पिशाच-आद्यैःby dancing pretas, piśācas, and the like

भूत-आकीर्णाfilled with beings/spirits

सहस्रशःin thousands; by the thousand

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

vultures (gṛdhra)

jackals (śivā)

pretas

piśācas

bhūtas

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 underscores the moral and existential cost of war: when violence dominates, the battlefield becomes a haunt of death and inauspicious forces, reminding listeners of impermanence and the ethical degradation that accompanies slaughter.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield atmosphere as terrifying—swarming with vultures and predators, echoing with jackal howls, and imagined as crowded with ghosts and goblins—an ominous portrayal of the carnage surrounding the ongoing combat.