Shloka 33

Devanagari script

भीरुवित्रासकारिण्य: शूराणां हर्षवर्धना: । ता नद्यो घोररूपास्तु नयन्त्यो यमसादनम्‌,वे भयानक रूपवाली नदियाँ कायरोंको डराने और शूरवीरोंका हर्ष बढ़ानेवाली थीं तथा प्राणियोंको यमलोक पहुँचाती थीं

Transliteration

bhīruvitrāsakāriṇyaḥ śūrāṇāṃ harṣavardhanāḥ | tā nadyo ghorarūpāstu nayantyo yamasādanam ||

Translation

ఆ ఘోరరూప నదులు భీరువులను భయపెట్టేవి, శూరుల హర్షాన్ని పెంచేవి, మరియు ప్రాణులను కొట్టుకుపోయేలా చేసి యమసదనము—మరణధామము—వైపు తీసుకుపోయేవి।

Word by Word

भीरुवित्रासकारिण्यःcausing terror to the timid

शूराणाम्of the heroes/brave men

हर्षवर्धनाःincreasing (their) joy

ताःthose (they)

नद्यःrivers

घोररूपाःof dreadful form

तुindeed/but

नयन्त्यःleading/carrying

यमसादनम्to Yama's abode

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Yama

rivers (nadyaḥ)

Yamasādana (abode of Yama)

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 same terrifying reality of war and death affects people according to their inner disposition: fear overwhelms the timid, while the courageous—trained in kṣātra-dharma—find their resolve and martial spirit intensified. The verse underscores how character shapes one’s response to danger and mortality.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene in Karṇa Parva: fearsome rivers (implicitly swollen with the violence of war) appear dreadful and carry beings toward death, evoking Yama’s realm. The imagery heightens the sense of carnage and the psychological contrast between cowards and heroes.