Shloka 14

Devanagari script

अरिष्टानक्षतां क्षापि सदारबलवाहनान्‌ । विमुक्तान्‌ सम्प्रपश्यामि युद्धात्‌ तस्मादमानुषात्‌,“बाणोंके आघातसे मेरा सारा शरीर क्षत-विक्षत हो गया था। समस्त अंगोंमें बड़ी वेदना हो रही थी; इसीलिये मुझे भागना पड़ा। भारत! तुमलोग, जो उस अमानुषिक युद्धसे छूटकर यहाँ स्त्री, सेना और वाहनोंसहित सकुशल तथा क्षतिसे रहित दिखायी देते हो; यह बात मुझे बड़ी अद्भुत जान पड़ती है

Transliteration

ariṣṭānakṣatāṃ kṣāpi sadārabalavāhanān | vimuktān samprapaśyāmi yuddhāt tasmād amānuṣāt ||

Translation

ਵੈਸ਼ੰਪਾਯਨ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ— ਮੈਂ ਤੁਸੀਂ ਸਭ ਨੂੰ ਇੱਥੇ ਬਿਨਾ ਕਿਸੇ ਅਪਸ਼ਕੁਨ ਦੇ, ਅਖੰਡ ਤੇ ਅਖ਼ਤ ਦਿਸਦਾ ਵੇਖ ਰਿਹਾ ਹਾਂ—ਆਪਣੀਆਂ ਇਸਤ੍ਰੀਆਂ, ਫੌਜ ਅਤੇ ਵਾਹਨਾਂ ਸਮੇਤ—ਉਸ ਅਮਾਨਵੀ ਯੁੱਧ ਤੋਂ ਛੁਟਕਾਰਾ ਪਾ ਕੇ। ਇਹ ਮੈਨੂੰ ਬਹੁਤ ਅਚੰਭਾ ਲੱਗਦਾ ਹੈ।

Word by Word

अरिष्टान्unharmed, uninjured

अक्षतान्unwounded, intact

चand

अपिalso, even

सदारबलवाहनान्together with wives, troops, and vehicles

विमुक्तान्freed, escaped

सम्प्रपश्यामिI see clearly / I behold

युद्धात्from the battle

तस्मात्therefrom, from that

अमानुषात्from the inhuman/superhuman (battle)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

yuddha (battle/war)

dārāḥ (wives)

bala (army/forces)

vāhanāni (vehicles/mounts)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the extraordinary, almost superhuman destructiveness of war and highlights the moral shock of survival: emerging unharmed—along with family and dependents—from such violence is portrayed as remarkable, inviting reflection on the fragility of life and the ethical weight of warfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Vaiśampāyana’s narration, a speaker expresses astonishment on seeing the addressed group safe and uninjured, having escaped an ‘inhuman’ battle, and notes that they have come through intact with their wives, troops, and conveyances.