Mahabharata 7.135.42 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 135, Shloka 42

द्रौणि-पार्षतयोर्युद्धम् | The Duel of Aśvatthāmā

Drauṇi) and Dhṛṣṭadyumna (Pārṣata

Devanagari script

स्वलंकृतं क्षिती क्षुण्णं चेष्टमानं यथोरगम्‌

Transliteration

svalaṅkṛtaṃ kṣitī kṣuṇṇaṃ ceṣṭamānaṃ yathoragam

Translation

अलंकारांनी सजलेला असूनही तो भूमीवर चिरडला जाऊन, सर्पासारखा तडफडत होता।

Word by Word

• सु-अलङ्कृतम्: well-adorned
• सु-अलङ्कृतम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अलङ्कृत (कृ धातु, क्त प्रत्यय; उपसर्ग: अलम्)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• क्षितौ: on the ground/earth
• क्षितौ: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षिति
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• क्षुण्णम्: crushed/struck down
• क्षुण्णम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्षुण्ण (क्षुद् धातु, क्त प्रत्यय)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• चेष्टमानम्: writhing/struggling
• चेष्टमानम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चेष्टमान (चेष्ट् धातु, शतृ/शानच् वर्तमान कृदन्त)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• यथा: as/like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• उरगम्: a serpent
• उरगम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: उरग
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• earth (kṣiti)
• serpent (uraga)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the impermanence of worldly splendor and the ethical gravity of war: ornamentation and status cannot prevent the vulnerability and suffering that follow violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a fallen warrior on the battlefield—still adorned, but struck down and writhing on the ground like a serpent—emphasizing the intensity and cruelty of the combat scene.