Shloka 136

रणभूमिवर्णनम् — Devāsuropama-yuddha and the ‘River’ Metaphor of the Battlefield

Devanagari script

पातनं शंस मे भूय: शल्यस्याथ सुतस्य मे | धृतराष्ट्र बोले--संजय! मैंने द्रोणाचार्य

Transliteration

pātanaṃ śaṃsa me bhūyaḥ śalyasyātha sutasya me |

Translation

Дхритараштра сказал: «Санджая, я уже выслушал полностью рассказ о гибели Дроны, Бхишмы и Карны, сына Радхи. Теперь поведай мне снова — опиши во всех подробностях падение Шальи и моего сына Дурьодханы».

Word by Word

• पातनम्: the falling/slaying (downfall)
• पातनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पातन
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• शंस: tell, relate
• Type: Verb
• Root: शंस्
• Form: Imperative, 2, Singular, Parasmaipada

• मे: to me
• मे: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Dative, Singular

• भूयः: again, once more
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भूयस्

• शल्यस्य: of Shalya
• Type: Noun
• Root: शल्य
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• अथ: and then, also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• सुतस्य: of (my) son
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुत
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• मे: my, of me
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Droṇācārya (Droṇa)
• Bhīṣma
• Karṇa (Rādheya, son of Rādhā)
• Śalya
• Duryodhana

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral psychology of war’s aftermath: even after hearing of great elders and heroes falling, Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s attachment to his son drives him to seek repeated recounting. It underscores how moha (delusion/attachment) persists amid catastrophe, shaping perception and inquiry.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra, listening through Sañjaya’s report, says he has already heard the deaths of Droṇa, Bhīṣma, and Karṇa, and now requests a full account of how Śalya and his own son Duryodhana were brought down.