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

ສັນຊະຍະກ່າວວ່າ: “ເປັນພາບອັນນ່າສະພຶງ—ເຕັມໄປດ້ວຍນົກແຮ້ ແລະສັດຮ້າຍຜູ້ລ່າ, ນ່າຢ້ານດ້ວຍສຽງຫອນຂອງໝາປ່າ; ແລະແອດແນ່ນເປັນພັນໆດ້ວຍວິນຍານ ແລະປີສາດ, ປານດັ່ງວ່າອຳນາດທີ່ຍິນດີໃນການຂ້າຟັນ ກຳລັງຟ້ອນລຳຢູ່ເທິງສະໜາມຮົບ.”

Word by Word

• गृध्र-उदग्र-महा-ग्राहाम्: having huge crocodiles (as if) with vultures towering (i.e., very formidable with great crocodiles)
• गृध्र-उदग्र-महा-ग्राहाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गृध्र + उदग्र + महा + ग्राह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• शिवा-विरुत-भैरवाम्: terrifying with the howling of jackals
• शिवा-विरुत-भैरवाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिवा + विरुत + भैरव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• नृत्यत्-प्रेत-पिशाच-आद्यैः: by dancing pretas, piśācas, and the like
• नृत्यत्-प्रेत-पिशाच-आद्यैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृत्यत् (कृदन्त, √नृत्) + प्रेत + पिशाच + आदि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• भूत-आकीर्णा: filled with beings/spirits
• भूत-आकीर्णा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भूत + आकीर्ण (कृदन्त, √कॄ/कीर् with आ-; 'strewn/filled')
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• सहस्रशः: in thousands; by the thousand
• सहस्रशः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहस्रशस् (अव्यय)
• Form: true

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• vultures (gṛdhra)
• jackals (śivā)
• pretas
• piśācas
• bhūtas

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.