Mahabharata 7.21.45 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 45

द्रोणविक्रमदर्शनम् / The Display of Droṇa’s Onslaught and the Debate on Pāṇḍava Regrouping

Devanagari script

क्रव्यादगणसंजुष्टां श्वशृूगालगणायुताम्‌ | निषेवितां महारौद्रै: पिशिताशै: समन्तत:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

kravyādagaṇasaṃjuṣṭāṃ śvaśṛgālaganāyutām |

niṣevitāṃ mahāraudraiḥ piśitāśaiḥ samantataḥ ||

Translation

क्रव्यादगणसंजुष्टां श्वशृगालगणायुताम् । निषेवितां महारौद्रैः पिशिताशैः समन्ततः ॥

Word by Word

• क्रव्यादगणसंजुष्टाम्: frequented/inhabited by a group of flesh-eaters
• क्रव्यादगणसंजुष्टाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रव्याद-गण-संजुष्ट (संजुष्ट)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• श्वशृगालगणायुताम्: accompanied by packs of dogs and jackals
• श्वशृगालगणायुताम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: श्व-शृगाल-गण-आयुत
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• निषेविताम्: resorted to; frequented
• निषेविताम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि-सेव् (निषेवित)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• महारौद्रैः: by very fierce/terrible (ones)
• महारौद्रैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महारौद्र
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• पिशिताशैः: by flesh-eaters (carnivorous beings)
• पिशिताशैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिशिताश
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• समन्ततः: on all sides; all around
• समन्ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्ततः

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• dogs (śva)
• jackals (śṛgāla)
• flesh-eaters/scavengers (kravyāda, piśitāśa)
• hosts/troops (gaṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral and existential aftermath of war: violence creates conditions where life is reduced to carrion and the battlefield becomes a haunt for scavengers and ghoulish beings. It functions as a critique of the dehumanizing consequences of conflict, even when framed as duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya continues his vivid description of the slaughter in Droṇa Parva, portraying the battlefield (and the metaphorical ‘river’ of blood described in the surrounding passage) as swarming with dogs, jackals, and terrifying flesh-eaters on all sides.