Shloka 38

Devanagari script

नाराचनिहतास्त्वन्ये तथा विद्धाश्ष तोमरै: । विनदन्तो< भ्यधावन्त विशूंगा इव पर्वता:

Transliteration

nārācani-hatās tv anye tathā viddhāś ca tomaraiḥ | vinadanto 'bhyadhāvanta viśūṅgā iva parvatāḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya nói: Kẻ thì bị những mũi tên sắt (nārāca) quật ngã, kẻ khác lại bị lao (tomara) đâm xuyên. Gầm thét vang trời, họ lao tới—như những ngọn núi bị chặt mất đỉnh—dẫu thân thể đã bị vũ khí nghiền nát vẫn cứ xông lên trong cơn cuồng nộ chiến trận.

Word by Word

नाराच-निहताःstruck down by arrows

तुbut

अन्येothers

तथाlikewise

विद्धाःpierced

चand

तोमरैःwith javelins/spears

विनदन्तःroaring, resounding

अभ्यधावन्तthey rushed towards/charged

विशूङ्गाःpeakless, without summits

इवlike, as if

पर्वताःmountains

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

nārāca (iron arrows)

tomara (spears/javelins)

parvata (mountains)

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 highlights the grim reality of war and the fierce perseverance of combatants: even when wounded or facing death, warriors continue to advance, reflecting the kṣatriya ideal of steadfastness—while also implicitly revealing the tragic cost of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene where many fighters are struck by heavy iron arrows and spears; despite being wounded or felled, they roar and surge forward, compared to mountains with their peaks broken off.