Shloka 29

Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Anxiety and Bhīṣma’s Theological Explanation of Pāṇḍava Invincibility

Book 6, Chapter 61

Devanagari script

जनेश्वर! रणभूमिमें बहे हुए रक्तसे सिंचकर धरतीकी धूल बैठ गयी और सारी दिशाएँ साफ हो गयीं ।।

Transliteration

Sañjaya uvāca: Janeśvara! raṇabhūmau baheṇa raktasiktena pṛthivyā dhūliḥ upaśāmyat, sarvā diśaś ca prasannā abhavan. Utthitāny agaṇeyāni kabandhāni samantataḥ, cihnabhūtāni jagato vināśārthāya, Bhārata.

Translation

Sañjaya nói: Hỡi chúa tể loài người! Khi chiến địa bị tưới đẫm bởi dòng máu chảy, bụi đất liền lắng xuống và mọi phương hướng trở nên quang đãng. Rồi khắp bốn bề, vô số thân mình không đầu trỗi dậy—những điềm báo làm dấu hiệu tiên tri sự hủy diệt của thế gian, hỡi Bharata. Cảnh ấy đặt cuộc chiến không phải trong vinh quang, mà trong thảm họa đạo lý, nơi chính các điềm dữ cũng rao truyền sự diệt vong.

Word by Word

• उत्थितानि: risen, arisen
• उत्थितानि: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्थित (उत्-स्था)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• अगणेयानि: innumerable, countless
• अगणेयानि: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अगणेय
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• कबन्धानि: headless trunks (corpses)
• कबन्धानि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कबन्ध
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• समन्ततः: on all sides, all around
• समन्ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्ततः

• चिह्नभूतानि: serving as signs/portents
• चिह्नभूतानि: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चिह्नभूत (चिह्न + भूत)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• जगतः: of the world
• जगतः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत्
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• विनाशार्थाय: for destruction
• विनाशार्थाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विनाशार्थ (विनाश + अर्थ)
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• भारत: O Bharata
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by address 'janeśvara'/'Bhārata')
• raṇabhūmi (battlefield)
• kabandha (headless trunks/omens)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the ethical horror of war: nature itself becomes a witness, and terrifying omens arise as signs of impending ruin. It cautions that mass violence, even when framed as duty, carries catastrophic consequences that eclipse triumph.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes the battlefield after intense slaughter: blood has soaked the ground so thoroughly that the dust settles and visibility clears. In that eerie clarity, innumerable headless trunks (kabandhas) appear all around as ominous signs foretelling widespread destruction.