Shloka 41

शल्यपरिघातः (Śalya Under Encirclement) — Mahābhārata, Śalya-parva, Adhyāya 12

Devanagari script

तद्रज: पुरुषव्यात्र शोणितेन प्रशामितम्‌

Transliteration

tad rajaḥ puruṣavyāghra śoṇitena praśāmitam

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: Wahai harimau di antara manusia, debu itu dipadamkan dan ditenangkan oleh darah.

Word by Word

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• रजः: dust
• रजः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: रजस्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• पुरुषव्याघ्र: O tiger among men
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुरुषव्याघ्र
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• शोणितेन: with blood
• शोणितेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शोणित
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• प्रशामितम्: was quenched/was pacified
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-शम्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• puruṣavyāghra (addressed hero, typically Dhṛtarāṣṭra in Sañjaya’s narration)
• rajaḥ (battlefield dust)
• śoṇita (blood)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse compresses a moral image: the battlefield’s dust—symbol of martial frenzy and movement—is ‘quenched’ only by blood, highlighting the grim truth that war’s momentum is paid for through human suffering, inviting reflection on the ethical cost even within kṣatriya duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battle scene: dust raised by chariots and warriors becomes settled because it is drenched with blood from the fighting, emphasizing the intensity and carnage of the conflict.