Shloka 7

Devanagari script

पुण्डरीकवनानीव विध्वस्तानि समन्ततः । चक्राते द्रोणपाञ्चाल्यौ नृणां शीर्षाण्यनेकश:,द्रोणाचार्य और धृष्टद्युम्नने मनुष्योंके बहुत-से मस्तक काट गिराये, जो चारों ओर नष्ट होकर पड़े हुए कमलवनोंके समान जान पड़ते थे

Transliteration

puṇḍarīkavanānīva vidhvastāni samantataḥ | cakrāte droṇapāñcālyau nṛṇāṃ śīrṣāṇy anekaśaḥ ||

Translation

ద్రోణుడు మరియు పాంచాల్యుడు (ధృష్టద్యుమ్నుడు) అనేక మంది మనుషుల తలలను కోసి పడేశారు; అవి చుట్టూ చెల్లాచెదురుగా పడి, నాశనమైన కమలవనాల్లా కనిపించాయి.

Word by Word

पुण्डरीकवनानिlotus-groves

इवlike/as if

विध्वस्तानिdestroyed, laid waste

समन्ततःon all sides, all around

चक्रातेthey did/made

द्रोणपाञ्चाल्यौDrona and the Panchalya (Dhrishtadyumna)

नृणाम्of men

शीर्षाणिheads

अनेकशःin many ways/many times; in great numbers

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Droṇa (Droṇācārya)

Dhṛṣṭadyumna (Pāñcāla)

lotus-groves (puṇḍarīkavanāni)

human heads (śīrṣāṇi)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral cost of war: even when warriors act under perceived duty, the outcome is widespread, dehumanizing destruction. The lotus-grove simile intensifies the sense of beauty turned into ruin, prompting reflection on how dharma in warfare is shadowed by suffering.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield where Droṇa and Dhṛṣṭadyumna are cutting down many fighters; severed heads lie scattered everywhere, compared to lotus-groves devastated on all sides.