Shloka 41

Devanagari script

ते विधूमा: प्रदीप्ताश्न दीप्यमानाश्व॒ पावका: । नभसीवान्वदृश्यन्त ग्रहास्तन्व भ्रसंवृता:,उस समय स्वल्प धूमयुक्त, प्रजजलित तथा जलायी जाती हुई चिताकी अग्नियाँ आकाश में सूक्ष्म बादलोंसे ढँके हुए ग्रहोंके समान दिखायी देती थीं

Transliteration

te vidhūmāḥ pradīptāś ca dīpyamānāś ca pāvakāḥ | nabhasīvānv adṛśyanta grahās tanv-abhrasaṃvṛtāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: Những giàn hỏa thiêu, khói chỉ lơ thơ mà lửa bùng sáng rực, trông trên bầu trời như các hành tinh bị màn mây mỏng che phủ.

Word by Word

तेthose

विधूमाःsmokeless / with little smoke

प्रदीप्ताःblazing, kindled

दीप्यमानाःshining, burning

चand

पावकाःfires

नभसिin the sky

इवlike, as if

अन्वदृश्यन्तwere seen, appeared

ग्रहाःplanets (luminaries)

तन्वby/with a thin (covering)

भ्रसंवृताःcovered/veiled by mist/cloud

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

pāvakāḥ (funeral fires/pyre-fires)

nabhas (sky)

grahāḥ (planets/luminaries)

abhra (clouds)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse conveys the moral weight of war through a cosmic simile: innumerable funeral fires make the sky seem filled with veiled planets. It points to impermanence and the ethical cost of violence, reminding the listener that victory purchased by mass death brings pervasive sorrow rather than true gain.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the aftermath of the great battle, many pyres are burning for the dead. Their bright flames, with only slight smoke, are compared to planets seen through thin clouds, emphasizing the scale of cremations and the atmosphere of mourning in the Strī-parvan.