Shloka 39

Devanagari script

एवमेष क्षयो वृत्त: पाण्डूनामपि भारत । क्रुद्धे शान्तनवे भीष्मे द्रोणे च रथसत्तमे,भारत! शान्तनुनन्दन भीष्म, रथियोंमें श्रेष्ठ द्रोणाचार्य, अश्वत्थामा, कृपाचार्य और कृतवर्मा--इनके कुपित होनेसे पाण्डव सैनिकोंका भी इस प्रकार यह संहार हुआ था। साथ ही पाण्डवोंके कुपित होनेसे आपके योद्धाओंका भी ऐसा ही विकट विनाश हुआ था

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | evameṣa kṣayo vṛttaḥ pāṇḍūnām api bhārata | kruddhe śāntanave bhīṣme droṇe ca rathasattame ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai Bhārata, demikianlah kebinasaan yang menimpa bahkan putera-putera Pāṇḍu. Apabila Bhīṣma, putera Śāntanu, bangkit murka, dan apabila Droṇa—yang terunggul antara pahlawan berkereta—juga diliputi amarah, bala tentera Pāṇḍava mengalami kehancuran seperti itu.”

Word by Word

एवम्thus

एषःthis

क्षयःdestruction

वृत्तःoccurred / happened

पाण्डूनाम्of the sons of Pाण्डु (Pandavas)

अपिalso

भारतO Bharata

क्रुद्धेwhen (he was) enraged / in the enraged (state)

शान्तनवेin the son of Śantanu

भीष्मेin Bhīṣma

द्रोणेin Droṇa

चand

रथसत्तमेin the best of chariot-warriors

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra as addressee)

Pāṇḍavas (sons of Pāṇḍu)

Bhīṣma (Śāntanu’s son)

Śāntanu

Droṇa

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 how anger (krodha) in powerful leaders amplifies collective ruin: when great warriors fight in wrath, the destruction spreads beyond one side, revealing the ethical cost of letting passion govern action in war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Pāṇḍava forces too suffered severe losses, specifically when Bhīṣma and Droṇa fought in an enraged state, intensifying the slaughter on the battlefield.