Shloka 40

Adhyāya 18 — Sequential Duels and Formation Pressure

Ulūka–Yuyutsu; Śakuni–Sutasoma; Kṛpa–Dhṛṣṭadyumna; Kṛtavarmā–Śikhaṇḍin

Devanagari script

साडगुलिन्रैर्भुजाग्रैश्न विप्रविद्धेरलंकृतैः । हस्तिहस्तोपमैश्छिन्नैरूरुभिश्न॒ तरस्विनाम्‌

Transliteration

ṣāḍgulīndrair bhujāgraiś ca vipraviddhair alaṅkṛtaiḥ | hastihastopamaiś chinnair ūrubhiś ca tarasvinām ||

Translation

สัญชัยกล่าวว่า “สนามรบเกลื่อนด้วยท่อนแขนและปลายแขนที่ถูกตัดขาด ยังสวมถุงมือ ประดับกำไลต้นแขน และถูกศรปักทะลุ; อีกทั้งต้นขาของนักรบผู้ทรงกำลังที่ถูกฟันขาด ใหญ่ดุจงวงช้าง”

Word by Word

षड्गुलिन्रैःwith six-fingered (hands/arms)

भुजाग्रैःwith the tips/ends of arms

विप्रविद्धैःpierced, transfixed

अलंकृतैःadorned, decorated

हस्तिहस्तोपमैःlike elephants' trunks

छिन्नैःcut off, severed

ऊरुभिःwith thighs

तरस्विनाम्of the mighty/impetuous (warriors)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

arms/forearms (bhujāḥ)

thighs (ūravaḥ)

elephant trunk (hastihasta) as simile

ornaments/armlets (implicit in alaṅkṛtaiḥ)

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 highlights the dehumanizing aftermath of battle: strength, beauty, and status-symbols (ornaments) cannot protect life. It implicitly cautions that when anger and ambition dominate, dharma is obscured and the result is widespread suffering.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the gruesome scene on the battlefield: severed, arrow-pierced arms and thighs of powerful warriors lie scattered, described through vivid similes (serpents and elephant trunks) to convey their size and the scale of slaughter.