Shloka 116

Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout

Devanagari script

पृष्ठच्छिन्नान्‌ पार्श्वच्छिन्नान्‌ शिरश्छिन्नांस्तथा परान्‌

Transliteration

pṛṣṭhacchinnān pārśvacchinnān śiraśchinnāṁs tathā parān

Translation

สัญชัยกล่าวว่า “บางคนถูกฟันจากด้านหลัง บางคนถูกสังหารจากด้านข้าง และอีกหลายคนถูกตัดศีรษะขาดด้วย”

Word by Word

• पृष्ठच्छिन्नान्: cut on the back
• पृष्ठच्छिन्नान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पृष्ठ-छिन्न
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• पार्श्वच्छिन्नान्: cut on the side/flank
• पार्श्वच्छिन्नान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पार्श्व-छिन्न
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• शिरश्छिन्नान्: beheaded; with heads cut off
• शिरश्छिन्नान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिरस्-छिन्न
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• तथा: thus; likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• परान्: others
• परान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse conveys the moral horror of violence carried out without fair combat—attacks from behind and in the dark—suggesting a breakdown of dharma and the warrior code, and emphasizing the ethical cost of vengeance-driven warfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing the aftermath and manner of killings during the Sauptika episode: bodies are found cut down from behind, from the side, and beheaded—graphic markers of a sudden, ruthless assault rather than open battlefield engagement.