Shloka 5

Devanagari script

चर्मवर्म भ्रमोपेतां रथोडुपसमाकुलाम्‌ । जयैषिणां च सुतरां भीरूणां च सुदुस्तराम्‌

Transliteration

carmavarma bhramopetāṁ rathoḍupasamākulām | jayaiṣiṇāṁ ca sutarāṁ bhīrūṇāṁ ca sudustarām ||

Translation

สัญชัยกล่าวว่า—สนามรบนั้นแน่นขนัดด้วยรถศึกที่เคลื่อนดุจเรือ และเต็มไปด้วยความสับสนวุ่นวายจากโล่และเกราะที่หมุนวน. สำหรับผู้ใฝ่ชัยยังพอมีทางข้ามได้ แต่สำหรับผู้หวาดหวั่นแล้ว ยากยิ่งนักที่จะข้ามพ้น

Word by Word

चर्मवर्मleather and armor

भ्रमोपेताम्attended by confusion; full of bewilderment

रथोडुपसमाकुलाम्crowded with chariots and boats (as if)

जयैषिणाम्of those seeking victory

चand

सुतराम्exceedingly; very much

भीरूणाम्of the timid/cowardly

चand

सुदुस्तराम्very hard to cross; extremely difficult

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

shields (carma)

armor (varman)

chariots (ratha)

boats (uḍupa) (simile)

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 ordeal tests people differently: resolve and a victory-oriented mind can find a way through chaos, while fear magnifies obstacles and makes the path seem nearly impassable—an ethical reminder that courage and steadiness are essential in kṣatriya duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield’s turmoil: shields and armor create a dizzying confusion, and the mass of chariots is likened to a fleet of boats, conveying how difficult it is to move and survive amid the press of war.