Shloka 57

Devanagari script

शध्वान: काकाश्च गृध्राश्च वृका गोमायुभि: सह | प्रणेदुर्भक्ष्यमासाद्य विकृताश्च मृगद्धिजा:,कुत्ते, कौए, गीध, भेड़िये तथा गीदड़ आदि विकराल पशु-पक्षी वहाँ अपना आहार पाकर हर्षनाद करने लगे

Transliteration

śaśvānāḥ kākaś ca gṛdhrāś ca vṛkā gomāyubhiḥ saha | praṇedur bhakṣyam āsādya vikṛtāś ca mṛgadvijāḥ ||

Translation

کتے، کوّے، گِدھ، بھیڑیے اور گیدڑ وغیرہ ہولناک درندے اور پرندے وہاں خوراک پا کر خوشی میں کرخت آوازیں نکالنے لگے۔

Word by Word

शध्वानाःdogs

काकाःcrows

चand

गृध्राःvultures

चand

वृकाःwolves

गोमायुभिःwith jackals

सहtogether with

प्रणेदुःthey cried out / made loud sounds

भक्ष्यम्food, prey

आसाद्यhaving reached/obtained

विकृताःdeformed, hideous

चand

मृगद्विजाःbeast-birds (birds that prey on animals)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

jackals

crows

vultures

wolves

hyenas

wild beasts and birds (scavengers)

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 cost of war: when humans abandon restraint and dharma, the battlefield turns into a place where death is normalized—so much so that scavengers rejoice. It functions as a moral warning that violence degrades the world and invites inauspiciousness.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes ominous battlefield sights: scavenging animals and birds (jackals, crows, vultures, wolves, hyenas) find carrion and cry out loudly, suggesting heavy slaughter and foreboding consequences in the Kurukṣetra war.