Mahabharata 7.21.42 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 42

द्रोणविक्रमदर्शनम् / The Display of Droṇa’s Onslaught and the Debate on Pāṇḍava Regrouping

Devanagari script

मनुष्यशीर्षपाषाणां शक्तिमीनां गदोडुपाम्‌ । उष्णीषफेनवसनां विकीर्णान्त्रसरीसृपाम्‌

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

manuṣyaśīrṣapāṣāṇāṁ śaktimīnāṁ gadodupām |

uṣṇīṣaphenavasanāṁ vikīrṇāntrasarīsṛpām ||

Translation

Sañjaya nói: Trên chiến địa ấy dâng lên một dòng sông tàn sát ghê rợn: đầu người như đá nằm dưới đáy; giáo mác bơi như cá; chùy như thuyền trên mặt nước; khăn đội đầu và y phục lóe sáng như bọt; còn ruột gan văng vãi quằn quại như rắn. Hình tượng ấy ép người ta cảm nhận nỗi kinh hoàng đạo lý của chiến tranh—khi dũng khí bị trói vào cuộc giết chóc đại trà, chiến trường hóa thành cơn lũ cuốn tất cả về phía cái chết, bất kể phe nào.

Word by Word

• मनुष्य: of men / human
• मनुष्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनुष्य
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• शीर्ष: heads
• शीर्ष: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शीर्षन्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• पाषाणानाम्: of stones
• पाषाणानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाषाण
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• शक्तीनाम्: of spears/javelins
• शक्तीनाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्ति
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Plural

• मीनानाम्: of fishes
• मीनानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मीन
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• गदा: of maces
• गदा: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गदा
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Plural

• उडुपानाम्: of boats
• उडुपानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: उडुप
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• उष्णीष: of turbans/helmets
• उष्णीष: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: उष्णीष
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• फेन: of foam
• फेन: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: फेन
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• वसनाम्: of garments/cloth
• वसनाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसन
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• विकीर्ण: scattered
• विकीर्ण: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वि + कृ (क्त)
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• अन्त्र: of entrails
• अन्त्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्त्र
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• सरीसृपाम्: of creeping reptiles/serpents
• सरीसृपाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरीसृप
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• human heads (manuṣya-śīrṣa)
• spears (śakti)
• maces (gadā)
• turbans/head-dresses (uṣṇīṣa)
• garments (vasana)
• entrails (antra)
• serpents/reptiles (sarīsṛpa)
• fish (mīna)
• boats (uḍupa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse is not a doctrinal instruction but an ethical warning through imagery: war reduces human bodies and heroic instruments into grotesque ‘natural’ features of a death-river. It underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension—kṣatriya duty and prowess may be praised, yet the cost in suffering and dehumanization is starkly exposed.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports the battlefield scene in Droṇa Parva using an extended metaphor: the combat zone appears like a terrifying river where heads are stones, spears are fish, maces are boats, turbans are foam, and entrails are serpents—conveying the overwhelming carnage and chaos of the fighting.