Shloka 36

अध्याय २६ — शल्यस्य सारथ्य-नियोजनं, कर्णस्य प्रस्थानं, उत्पातदर्शनं च

Chapter 26: Śalya appointed as charioteer; Karṇa’s departure; portents

Devanagari script

गन्धर्वनगराकारं घोरमायोधनं तदा

Transliteration

gandharvanagarākāraṃ ghoramāyodhanaṃ tadā

Translation

Sañjaya said: “At that time, the battlefield appeared like a Gandharva-city—an awe-inspiring, illusory spectacle—terrible in its aspect.”

Word by Word

• गन्धर्वनगराकारम्: having the form of a Gandharva-city (illusory city)
• गन्धर्वनगराकारम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गन्धर्वनगराकार
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• घोरम्: terrible
• घोरम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• आयोधनम्: battle, battlefield
• आयोधनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आयोधन
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तदा: then, at that time
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Gandharva (as a class of beings)
• battlefield (āyodhana)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how war can overwhelm perception: the battlefield becomes a dazzling yet terrifying spectacle, suggesting that human experience in extreme violence is often marked by confusion, unreality, and moral disorientation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the combat scene at that moment looked like a magical ‘Gandharva-city’—a wondrous but deceptive vision—underscoring the intensity and bewildering nature of the fighting.