Shloka 256

सैन्यसंनिवेशः (Sainyasaṃniveśaḥ) — Deployment, Omens, and Yuddha-Dharma Conventions

Devanagari script

तेन सेनासमूहेन समानीतेन कौरवै: । कौरवोंद्वारा संग्रह करके वहाँ लाये हुए उस सैन्यसमूहद्वारा सारी पृथ्वी नवयुवकोंसे सूनी-सी हो रही थी। सर्वत्र केवल बालक और बूढ़े ही शेष रह गये थे। सारी वसुधा घोड़े, हाथी, रथ और तरुण पुरुषोंसे हीन-सी हो गयी थी

Transliteration

tena senāsamūhena samānītena kauravaiḥ |

Translation

کوروؤں نے جو عظیم لشکر سمیٹ کر وہاں لا کھڑا کیا تھا، اس کے باعث زمین گویا اپنے نوخیز جوانوں سے خالی ہو گئی۔ ہر طرف صرف بچے اور بوڑھے ہی باقی رہ گئے۔ گھوڑوں، ہاتھیوں، رتھوں اور تندرست نوجوان مردوں سے محروم یہ دھرتی ویران سی دکھائی دیتی تھی۔

Word by Word

तेनby that

सेना-समूहेनby the mass of the army

समानीतेनbrought/assembled

कौरवैःby the Kauravas

Speaker

वैशग्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

Kauravas

army host (senāsamūha)

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 ethical and social cost of war: when rulers mobilize vast armies, the land is stripped of its young and able, leaving only the very young and the old—an implicit warning that even ‘duty-bound’ warfare carries grave collective consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana describes the Kauravas’ massive mobilization: their assembled host is so extensive that it makes the earth seem emptied of youth, as men and resources (horses, elephants, chariots) have been drawn into the coming Kurukṣetra conflict.