Shloka 29

Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s Anxiety and Bhīṣma’s Theological Explanation of Pāṇḍava Invincibility

Book 6, Chapter 61

Devanagari script

जनेश्वर! रणभूमिमें बहे हुए रक्तसे सिंचकर धरतीकी धूल बैठ गयी और सारी दिशाएँ साफ हो गयीं ।।

Transliteration

Sañjaya uvāca: Janeśvara! raṇabhūmau baheṇa raktasiktena pṛthivyā dhūliḥ upaśāmyat, sarvā diśaś ca prasannā abhavan. Utthitāny agaṇeyāni kabandhāni samantataḥ, cihnabhūtāni jagato vināśārthāya, Bhārata.

Translation

三阇耶说道：噢，人中之主！当战场被奔流的鲜血浸灌，大地尘土遂沉落，四方诸向皆复澄明。继而，四面八方无数无首之躯忽然挺起——作为征兆，昭示世界将趋毁灭，噢，婆罗多。此景将战争置于非荣耀而是道德灾难之中：连凶兆本身都在宣告覆亡。

Word by Word

• उत्थितानि: risen, arisen
• उत्थितानि: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उत्थित (उत्-स्था)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• अगणेयानि: innumerable, countless
• अगणेयानि: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अगणेय
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• कबन्धानि: headless trunks (corpses)
• कबन्धानि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कबन्ध
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• समन्ततः: on all sides, all around
• समन्ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्ततः

• चिह्नभूतानि: serving as signs/portents
• चिह्नभूतानि: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चिह्नभूत (चिह्न + भूत)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• जगतः: of the world
• जगतः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: जगत्
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• विनाशार्थाय: for destruction
• विनाशार्थाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विनाशार्थ (विनाश + अर्थ)
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

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

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by address 'janeśvara'/'Bhārata')
• raṇabhūmi (battlefield)
• kabandha (headless trunks/omens)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the ethical horror of war: nature itself becomes a witness, and terrifying omens arise as signs of impending ruin. It cautions that mass violence, even when framed as duty, carries catastrophic consequences that eclipse triumph.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes the battlefield after intense slaughter: blood has soaked the ground so thoroughly that the dust settles and visibility clears. In that eerie clarity, innumerable headless trunks (kabandhas) appear all around as ominous signs foretelling widespread destruction.