Shloka 19

Bhīmasena’s Kalinga Engagement and the Approach of Bhīṣma (भीमसेन-कालिङ्ग-संग्रामः)

Devanagari script

तत्र तत्र नरौघाणां क्रोशतामितरेतरम्‌ | शुश्रुवुर्दारुणा वाच: प्रेतानामिव भारत

Transliteration

tatra tatra naraughāṇāṁ krośatām itaretaram | śuśruvur dāruṇā vācaḥ pretānām iva bhārata ||

Translation

三阇耶说：战场上此处彼处，人群成阵，彼此呼唤，发出凄厉可怖的声音；噢，婆罗多啊，那声响宛如亡者的喧哗。

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र
• Form: true

• तत्र: there (here and there)
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र
• Form: true

• नरौघाणाम्: of the multitudes of men
• नरौघाणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरौघ
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• क्रोशताम्: of (those) crying out
• क्रोशताम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्रुश्
• Form: present active participle, Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• इतरेतरम्: to one another, mutually
• इतरेतरम्: Karma
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इतरेतर
• Form: true

• शुश्रुवुः: they heard
• शुश्रुवुः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु
• Form: Perfect, 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• दारुणाः: terrible, dreadful
• दारुणाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दारुण
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• वाचः: cries, voices
• वाचः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाच्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• प्रेतानाम्: of the departed spirits
• प्रेतानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रेत
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• इव: like, as if
• इव: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव
• Form: true

• भारत: O Bharata
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Bharata (addressed: Dhritarashtra)
• battlefield (Kurukshetra context)
• pretas (the dead/ghosts)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the human cost of war: when violence dominates, the battlefield becomes a realm of near-death where ordinary human voices resemble the tumult of the dead. It implicitly warns that adharma and uncontrolled aggression dehumanize both victim and victor, making suffering the loudest ‘message’ of conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that across the battlefield, masses of wounded and terrified men are crying out to one another. Their collective wailing is so dreadful that it sounds like the uproar of pretas (the departed), conveying the chaos and horror of the fighting.