Shloka 14

Virāṭa Rescued from Suśarmā; Night Battle and Royal Gratitude (विराटमोक्षणं सुशर्मवधाभिमुखं च)

Devanagari script

शालस्कन्धनिकाशानि क्षत्रियाणां महामृधे । उस महासंग्राममें बहुत-से क्षत्रिय वीरोंके शरीर, जो शालवृक्षकी शाखाओंके समान विशाल एवं हृष्ट-पुष्ट थे, छिन्न-भिन्न होकर टुकड़े-टुकड़े दिखायी देने लगे ।। नागभोगनिकाशै श्ष बाहुभि श्वन्दनो क्षितै:

Transliteration

śāla-skandha-nikāśāni kṣatriyāṇāṃ mahā-mṛdhe | nāga-bhoga-nikāśaiś ca bāhubhiḥ śvandano kṣitaiḥ ||

Translation

വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ആ മഹാസമരത്തിൽ ശാലവൃക്ഷശാഖകളെപ്പോലെ വിശാലവും ദൃഢവുമായ ക്ഷത്രിയവീരരുടെ ദേഹങ്ങൾ ഛിന്നഭിന്നമായി ഭൂമിയിൽ കിടന്നതായി കണ്ടു; സർപ്പഭോഗങ്ങളെപ്പോലെ കട്ടിയുള്ള വളഞ്ഞ ഭുജങ്ങൾ മണ്ണിൽ ചിതറിക്കിടന്നു—അനിയന്ത്രിത ക്രോധം വരുത്തുന്ന നാശത്തിന്റെ സാക്ഷിയായി।

Word by Word

शालस्कन्धनिकाशानिlike the trunks/branches of śāla-trees

क्षत्रियाणाम्of the kṣatriyas

महामृधेin the great battle

नागभोगनिकाशैःwith (arms) like serpent-coils

बाहुभिःwith arms

श्वन्दनःŚvandan(a) (a warrior/one who rushes; possibly a proper name/epithet)

क्षितैःcut down/struck (by blows); with the slain/cut ones

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kṣatriyas

śāla tree

earth/ground (kṣiti)

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 grim cost of warfare: even the strongest bodies are reduced to fragments. It implicitly cautions that martial prowess, when driven by rage and rivalry, culminates in suffering and impermanence—an ethical reminder to restrain violence and uphold dharma even amid conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes the battlefield scene in the Virāṭa Parva: many Kṣatriya heroes have been cut down, their large, robust bodies compared to śāla branches, and severed arms likened to serpent-coils scattered across the ground—vivid imagery conveying the intensity of the fight.