Previous Verse
Next Verse

Shloka 56

आपक्षुक्षुभिरे सर्वाश्चकम्पे च वसुंधरा । पर्वताश्च व्यशीर्यन्त दिशो नागाश्ष मोहिता:

āpakṣu-kṣubhire sarvāś cakampe ca vasundharā | parvatāś ca vyaśīryanta diśo nāgāś ca mohitāḥ ||

సమస్త పక్షిజాతి కలవరపడగా భూమి కంపించింది. పర్వతాలు చీలి కూలసాగాయి; దిక్కులు మరియు మహానాగులు కూడా మోహగ్రస్తులయ్యారు.

आपक्षुक्षुभिरेwere violently agitated / shook
आपक्षुक्षुभिरे:
Karta
TypeVerb
Rootआ-√पक्षुभ् (पक्षुभ्)
FormPerfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada
सर्वाःall
सर्वाः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootसर्व
FormFeminine, Nominative, Plural
and
:
TypeIndeclinable
Root
कम्पेin trembling / in an earthquake
कम्पे:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootकम्प
FormMasculine, Locative, Singular
and
:
TypeIndeclinable
Root
वसुंधराthe earth
वसुंधरा:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootवसुंधरा
FormFeminine, Nominative, Singular
पर्वताःmountains
पर्वताः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootपर्वत
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
and
:
TypeIndeclinable
Root
व्यशीर्यन्तwere shattered / crumbled apart
व्यशीर्यन्त:
Karta
TypeVerb
Rootवि-√शॄ (शॄ)
FormImperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Plural, Ātmanepada
दिशःthe directions (quarters)
दिशः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootदिश्
FormFeminine, Nominative, Plural
नागाःelephants
नागाः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootनाग
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
मोहिताःbewildered / deluded
मोहिताः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootमोहित (from √मुह्)
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural

व्यास उवाच

V
Vyāsa
V
Vasundharā (Earth)
P
Parvatāḥ (mountains)
D
Diśaḥ (the directions/quarters)
N
Nāgāḥ (serpents/Nāgas)
P
Pakṣiṇaḥ (winged creatures/birds)

Educational Q&A

The verse conveys that extreme violence and moral collapse in war are not merely human events; they reverberate through the cosmos. Nature’s trembling and confusion functions as an ethical mirror, implying that adharma destabilizes the world-order (ṛta/dharma) itself.

Vyāsa describes ominous portents: birds are in frantic upheaval, the earth shakes, mountains crack, the directions seem disturbed, and even the Nāgas are bewildered. These signs heighten the sense that a decisive, catastrophic moment in the Kurukṣetra war is underway.