Shloka 57

Devanagari script

रुधिरोक्षितसन्नाहैरात्तशस्त्रैरुदायुधै: । नानाप्रहरणैघोरै: परस्परवधैषिभि:

Transliteration

rudhirokṣitasannāhair āttaśastrair udāyudhaiḥ | nānāpraharaṇair ghoraiḥ parasparavadhaiṣibhiḥ ||

Translation

സഞ്ജയൻ പറഞ്ഞു—രക്തം തളിച്ച കവചങ്ങൾ ധരിച്ചു, ശസ്ത്രങ്ങൾ പിടിച്ചു, ആയുധങ്ങൾ ഉയർത്തി അവർ നിന്നിരുന്നു; നാനാവിധ ഭീകര പ്രഹരണങ്ങളാൽ സജ്ജരായി, പരസ്പരവധത്തിനായി ഉത്സുകരായിരുന്നു.

Word by Word

रुधिरwith blood

उक्षितsprinkled/smeared

सन्नाहैःwith armours

आत्तtaken up/held

शस्त्रैःwith weapons

उदायुधैःhaving weapons raised/ready

नानाvarious

प्रहरणैःwith missiles/weapons

घोरैःterrible

परस्परmutually/each other

वधslaying

एषिभिःseeking/desiring

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

weapons (śastra/praharaṇa)

armor (sannāha)

blood (rudhira)

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 the moral collapse that war can produce: when hostility dominates, combatants become mutually destructive, and the protective purpose of kṣatriya power (upholding order and dharma) is overshadowed by the drive to kill.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield condition of the fighters: armored and blood-soaked, weapons raised, equipped with many fearsome arms, they confront each other with the explicit aim of mutual slaughter.