Shloka 35

Devanagari script

उत्थितान्यगणेयानि कबन्धानि समन्ततः,वहाँ चारों ओर उठे हुए अगणित कबन्ध और रक्त-मांससे तृप्त हुए भूतगण नृत्य कर रहे थे। भारत! ये सब-के-सब रक्त तथा वसा पीकर छके हुए थे

Transliteration

utthitāny agaṇeyāni kabandhāni samantataḥ |

Translation

ସଞ୍ଜୟ କହିଲେ—ଚାରିଦିଗରେ ଅଗଣିତ କବନ୍ଧ ଉଠିଥିବା ଦେଖାଗଲା। ସେମାନଙ୍କ ଚାରିପାଖରେ ରକ୍ତ ଓ ମାଂସରେ ତୃପ୍ତ ଭୂତଗଣ ଉନ୍ମତ୍ତ ହୋଇ ନୃତ୍ୟ କରୁଥିଲେ। ହେ ଭାରତ! ସେମାନେ ସମସ୍ତେ ରକ୍ତ ଓ ବସା ପିଇ ମତ୍ତ ଓ ପରିତୃପ୍ତ ହୋଇଥିଲେ।

Word by Word

उत्थितानिrisen, standing up

अगणेयानिinnumerable, not to be counted

कबन्धानिtrunks (headless bodies)

समन्ततःon all sides, all around

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra addressed as ‘O Bhārata’)

kabandha (headless corpses)

bhūta-gaṇa (hosts of spirits)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the moral and existential cost of war: when slaughter becomes excessive, the battlefield is portrayed as a space where humanity collapses into horror, and ominous, inauspicious forces appear—signaling the karmic weight and ethical degradation tied to mass violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a gruesome battlefield scene: innumerable headless bodies stand or rise amid the carnage, while supernatural beings (bhūtas) dance, having gorged on blood, flesh, and fat—an ominous depiction intensifying the dread and inauspiciousness of the ongoing combat.