Shloka 44

Chapter 89: Bhīma dispatched to protect Ghaṭotkaca amid escalating engagements

Devanagari script

शिवाभिरशिवाभ्ि श्व रुवद्धिरभैरवं रवम्‌ । घोरमायोधन जज्ञे भूतसंघै: समाकुलम्‌,भैरव रव फैलानेवाली अमंगलमयी सियारिनों तथा भूतगणोंसे व्याप्त होकर वह युद्धका मैदान अत्यन्त भयानक हो गया

Transliteration

śivābhir aśivābhiś ca ruddhir bhairavaṁ ravam | ghoraṁ āyodhanaṁ jajñe bhūtasaṅghaiḥ samākulam ||

Translation

संजय म्हणाला—अमंगलसूचक कोल्हिणींच्या भयानक, अशिव हंबरड्यांनी आणि भूतगणांच्या गर्दीने युद्धभूमी अत्यंत घोर झाली; सर्वत्र भयावह, अपशकुनकारी नाद घुमू लागला।

Word by Word

शिवाभिःby/with the jackals (śivā)

अशिवाभिःby/with inauspicious (ones)

श्व-रुवद्भिःby/with those howling like dogs

अभैरवम्non-terrible / not frightful

रवम्a cry, roar, sound

घोरम्terrible

आयोधनम्battlefield

जज्ञेbecame / arose

भूत-संघैःby/with hosts of beings (ghosts)

समाकुलम्crowded, filled, confused

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

āyodhana (battlefield of Kurukṣetra, implied)

śivā (jackals)

bhūtasaṅgha (hosts of spirits)

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 that unrighteous, destructive conflict is accompanied by inauspicious signs—fearful sounds and eerie presences—suggesting that adharma in action brings moral and psychological darkness and foreshadows widespread suffering.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the battlefield has turned extremely terrifying, crowded with jackals and spirit-hosts, and echoing with dreadful cries—an ominous atmosphere surrounding the onset/intensification of battle.