Shloka 25

Devanagari script

कालरात्रिमिवात्युग्रां नरनागाश्वभोजनाम्‌ । प्राकाराषट्ट्रपुरद्वारदारणीमतिदारुणाम्‌

Transliteration

kālarātrim ivātyugrāṃ nara-nāgāśva-bhojanām | prākārāṣaṭṭra-pura-dvāra-dāraṇīm ati-dāruṇām ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: It was like the dread Kālarātri herself—fiercely terrifying—devouring men, elephants, and horses; exceedingly cruel, shattering ramparts, smashing defensive engines, and bursting through the gates of the city.

Word by Word

• कालरात्रिम्: Kālarātri (the night of doom)
• कालरात्रिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालरात्रि
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• इव: like, as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• अति-उग्राम्: exceedingly fierce
• अति-उग्राम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उग्र
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• नर-नाग-अश्व-भोजनाम्: devouring men, elephants, and horses
• नर-नाग-अश्व-भोजनाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भोजना
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• प्राकार-अष्ट-त्र-पुर-द्वार-दारणीम्: tearing down ramparts, (aṣṭa-)forts, cities, and gates
• प्राकार-अष्ट-त्र-पुर-द्वार-दारणीम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दारणी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• अति-दारुणाम्: exceedingly dreadful
• अति-दारुणाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दारुण
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Kālarātri
• men (warriors)
• elephants
• horses
• ramparts (prākāra)
• city (pura)
• city gates (dvāra)
• defensive engines/implements (āṣaṭṭra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the moral horror and inevitability of war’s devastation: once unleashed, violence becomes indiscriminate, consuming all—men, animals, and the very structures meant for protection—like a personified doom (Kālarātri).

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a scene of overwhelming slaughter and breach of defenses, using a powerful simile: the onslaught appears like Kālarātri, tearing through fortifications and gates while ‘devouring’ warriors, elephants, and horses.