Shloka 23

Adhyāya 104 — Śikhaṇḍin-puraskāraḥ (Śikhaṇḍin as Vanguard) and Bhīṣma’s Counter-Advance

Devanagari script

ततस्ते तमसा सर्वे वृताश्चासन्‌ महीपते

Transliteration

tataste tamasā sarve vṛtāścāsan mahīpate

Translation

三阇耶说道：于是，王啊，他们众人尽为黑暗所笼罩——不祥的帷幕，预示着战事推进之中将生混乱与危厄。

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त)

• ते: they
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• तमसा: by darkness
• तमसा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तमस्
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• सर्वे: all
• सर्वे: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• वृताः: covered, enveloped
• वृताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वृत (√वृ 'to cover' क्त-प्रत्ययान्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च
• Form: अव्यय

• आसन्: were
• Type: Verb
• Root: √अस्
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, बहुवचन

• महीपते: O king (lord of the earth)
• Type: Noun
• Root: महीपतिः
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (mahīpati, implied addressee)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how moral and strategic clarity can be eclipsed in war; darkness functions as a narrative sign of disorientation and impending danger, urging discernment and restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that everyone present became covered by darkness, indicating a sudden, ominous change in the battlefield atmosphere.