Shloka 144

Devanagari script

एवमेष क्षयो वृत्तस्तावकानां परै: सह | क्रूरो विशसनो घोरो राजन दुर्मन्त्रिते तव,राजन! इस प्रकार आपकी कुमन्त्रणाके फलस्वरूप शत्रुओंके साथ आपके योद्धाओंका यह विनाशकारी, भयंकर एवं क्रूरतापूर्ण संग्राम हुआ

Transliteration

evam eṣa kṣayo vṛttas tāvakānāṃ paraiḥ saha | krūro viśasano ghoro rājan durmantrite tava ||

Translation

സഞ്ജയൻ പറഞ്ഞു—രാജാവേ, ഇങ്ങനെ ശത്രുക്കളോടൊപ്പം നിന്റെ ആളുകളുടെയും നാശം സംഭവിച്ചു. ഇത് ക്രൂരവും സംഹാരകവും ഭീകരവുമായ യുദ്ധമായിരുന്നു—നിന്റെ ദുർമന്ത്രണത്തിന്റെ ഫലം തന്നെ।

Word by Word

एवम्thus

एषःthis

क्षयःdestruction

वृत्तःoccurred / happened

तावकानाम्of your (men/people)

परैःwith/by the enemies

सहtogether with

क्रूरःcruel

विशसनःslaughtering / murderous

घोरःterrible

राजन्O king

दुर्मन्त्रितेin (your) ill-counsel / bad policy

तवof you / your

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Dhritarashtra (implied by 'rājan')

Kauravas (implied by 'tāvakānām')

Enemies/opponents (Pāṇḍavas implied by 'paraiḥ')

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 highlights moral causality in statecraft: a ruler’s misguided counsel and unethical policy (durmantrita) ripen into collective ruin. It frames war’s horror not as fate alone but as a consequence of flawed judgment and adharma in leadership.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports to King Dhritarashtra that a devastating and terrifying slaughter has occurred—specifically the destruction of Dhritarashtra’s forces along with the enemy in the ongoing Kurukṣetra war—attributing this calamity to the king’s own ill-advised decisions.