Shloka 40

Devanagari script

अथ संनहामानेषु सैन्येषु भरतर्षभ । निष्प्रभो5 भ्युद्ययौ सूर्य: सघोष॑ भूश्चचाल च,भरतभूषण! जब उभय-पक्षकी सेनाएँ युद्धके लिये पूर्णतः तैयार हो गयीं, उस समय सूर्यकी प्रभा फीकी पड़ गयी और भारी आवाजके साथ धरती काँपने लगी

Transliteration

atha saṃnahāmāneṣu sainyeṣu bharatarṣabha | niṣprabho 'bhyudyayau sūryaḥ saghoṣaṃ bhūś cacāla ca ||

Translation

सञ्जय उवाच— अथ संनहामानेषु सैन्येषु भरतर्षभ । निष्प्रभोऽभ्युद्ययौ सूर्यः सघोषं भूश्चचाल च ॥

Word by Word

अथthen

संनहामानेषुwhile (they) were arming/preparing

सैन्येषुin the armies

भरतर्षभO bull among the Bharatas

निष्प्रभःlusterless, dim

अभ्युद्ययौrose up, appeared

सूर्यःthe sun

सघोषम्with a loud sound

भूःthe earth

चचालshook, trembled

चand

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by address bharatarṣabha)

Sūrya (the Sun)

Bhū (the Earth)

the two armies (Kaurava and Pāṇḍava, implied)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames the outbreak of war as a dharmic crisis reflected in nature itself: when collective violence becomes imminent, cosmic signs—dimmed sunlight and a trembling earth—signal moral and existential gravity, urging reflection on the consequences of adharma and unchecked ambition.

What is happening in the narrative?

As both sides complete their battle preparations, Sañjaya reports ominous portents to Dhṛtarāṣṭra: the sun appears lusterless and the earth shakes with a loud roar, heightening the sense that a catastrophic confrontation is about to begin.