Shloka 39

रणभूमिवर्णनम् — Devāsuropama-yuddha and the ‘River’ Metaphor of the Battlefield

Devanagari script

दश दन्तिसहस्राणि सप्त चैव शतानि च । पूर्णे शतसहस्रे द्वे हयानां तत्र भारत

Transliteration

daśa dantisahasrāṇi sapta caiva śatāni ca | pūrṇe śatasahasre dve hayānāṃ tatra bhārata

Translation

സഞ്ജയൻ പറഞ്ഞു— ഭാരതാ! അവിടെ പത്ത് ആയിരം ആനകളും അതിലധികമായി ഏഴ് നൂറും ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു; കുതിരകൾ പൂർണ്ണമായി രണ്ട് ലക്ഷം ഉണ്ടായിരുന്നു।

Word by Word

दशten

दन्ति-सहस्राणिthousands of elephants

सप्तseven

चand

एवindeed/just

शतानिhundreds

चand

पूर्णेwhen (it is) complete; in the full (count)

शत-सहस्रेin a hundred-thousand (i.e., in the count of 100,000)

द्वेtwo

हयानाम्of horses

तत्रthere

भारतO Bharata (descendant of Bharata)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra as addressee)

elephants

horses

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?

Though primarily a battlefield statistic, the verse implicitly highlights how vast military pride and material strength amplify destruction; ethical reflection arises from recognizing the enormous cost of war in lives and resources.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the size of the forces present, enumerating the numbers of elephants and horses to convey the magnitude of the host in the Shalya Parva context.