Mahabharata 7.148.24 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 148, Shloka 24

अध्याय १४८ — कर्णप्रभावः, धृष्टद्युम्नस्य विरथता, तथा घटोत्कच-आह्वानम्

Chapter 148: Karṇa’s Pressure, Dhṛṣṭadyumna Unhorsed, and the Summoning of Ghaṭotkaca

Devanagari script

उत्कृत्तवदनैर्देहै: शरीरैः कृत्तबाहुभि: । भुजैश्न पाणिनिर्मुक्त: पाणिभिव्यड्गुलीकृतै:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

utkṛttavadanair dehaiḥ śarīraiḥ kṛttabāhubhiḥ |

bhujaiś ca pāṇinirmuktaiḥ pāṇibhir vyaṅgulīkṛtaiḥ |

ākṛīḍam iva rudrasya purābhyardayataḥ paśūn ||

Translation

Sañjaya thưa: Chiến địa rải đầy thân xác bị chém cụt mặt, những thân mình bị phạt đứt tay; có cánh tay lìa khỏi bàn tay, có bàn tay bị nghiền nát đến trơ trụi, mất cả ngón. Tâu Đại vương, nơi ấy tựa như sân chơi của Rudra thuở xưa, khi Ngài hành hạ muôn loài—một đấu trường của tử vong, nơi bạo lực của binh khí phô bày cảnh tượng ghê rợn.

Word by Word

• उत्कृत्त: cut off, severed
• उत्कृत्त: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्+कृद् (कृत्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (context-dependent), Instrumental, Plural

• वदनैः: with faces/mouths
• वदनैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वदन
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• देहैः: with bodies
• देहैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• शरीरैः: with bodies
• शरीरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरीर
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• कृत्त: cut, severed
• कृत्त: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृद् (कृत्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (context-dependent), Instrumental, Plural

• बाहुभिः: with arms
• बाहुभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाहु
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• भुजैः: with arms
• भुजैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भुज
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• पाणि: with hands
• पाणि: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाणि
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• निर्मुक्तैः: released/removed (from)
• निर्मुक्तैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्+मुच् (क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (context-dependent), Instrumental, Plural

• पाणिभिः: with hands
• पाणिभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाणि
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• व्यङ्गुलीकृतैः: made fingerless; with fingers destroyed
• व्यङ्गुलीकृतैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि+अङ्गुली+कृ (कृत-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter (context-dependent), Instrumental, Plural

• आक्रीडम्: playground; play-field
• आक्रीडम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आक्रीड
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• इव: like, as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• रुद्रस्य: of Rudra
• रुद्रस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रुद्र
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• पुरा: formerly, in olden times
• पुरा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरा

• अभ्यर्दयतः: of (him) tormenting/afflicting
• अभ्यर्दयतः: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि+अर्द् (शतृ-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Present (participle), Singular, Masculine, Genitive

• पशून्: animals; creatures
• पशून्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पशु
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhūpāla (the king, i.e., Dhṛtarāṣṭra as addressee)
• Rudra
• paśu (living creatures)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse functions as an ethical mirror: it exposes the brutal, dehumanizing reality of war. By likening the field to Rudra’s fearsome ‘playground,’ it stresses that violence—though pursued for victory—produces overwhelming suffering that should sober any claim of glory.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the king what he ‘sees’ on the Kurukṣetra field: corpses and severed limbs everywhere—faces cut off, arms and hands mutilated—so that the battlefield appears like a dreadful arena associated with Rudra’s ancient tormenting of beings.