Shloka 3

Devanagari script

शूरास्थिचयसंकीर्णा काकगृध्रानुनादिताम्‌ । छत्रहंसप्लवोपेतां वीरवृक्षापहारिणीम्‌

Transliteration

śūrāsthicayasaṅkīrṇā kākagṛdhrānunāditām | chatrahaṃsaplavopetāṃ vīravṛkṣāpahāriṇīm

Translation

สัญชัยกล่าวว่า—สนามรบเกลื่อนไปด้วยกองกระดูกของวีรชน และกึกก้องด้วยเสียงร้องของกาและแร้ง; ร่มฉัตรที่ร่วงหล่นดูประหนึ่งหงส์และนกน้ำ และมันเป็นผู้กวาดเอา ‘พฤกษาแห่งวีรบุรุษ’ ไป—ดั่งการเก็บเกี่ยวอันโหดเหี้ยมของสงคราม

Word by Word

शूरof heroes

अस्थिbone

चयheap, accumulation

संकीर्णाstrewn, scattered, filled

काकby crows

गृध्रby vultures

अनुनादिताम्resounding (echoed)

छत्रwith umbrellas

हंसwith swans

प्लवwith waterfowl (plava-birds)

उपेताम्attended by, accompanied with

वीरof warriors

वृक्षtree

अपहारिणीम्carrying away, removing, plundering

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

battlefield (Kurukṣetra implied)

crows

vultures

parasols (royal umbrellas)

swans

waterfowl

warriors (heroes)

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 underscores the moral gravity and transience revealed by war: even heroic strength and royal insignia (parasols) end as debris, while scavenger cries dominate. It implicitly cautions against pride and reminds the listener that dharma must be weighed against the devastating cost of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya paints a vivid, grim tableau of the battlefield—bones scattered everywhere, crows and vultures calling, and fallen parasols compared to swans and waterfowl—portraying the field as a force that ‘carries off’ mighty warriors like trees felled in a storm.