Shloka 35

Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 58 — Arjuna’s Arrow-Storm and Relief of Bhīmasena

Devanagari script

नैवान्तरिक्षं न दिशो नापि योधा: समन्तत:

Transliteration

naivāntarikṣaṃ na diśo nāpi yodhāḥ samantataḥ

Translation

桑阇耶说道：无论是头顶的天空，还是四方的方向，乃至周遭的战士，都已难以分辨——一切仿佛被战阵的喧嚣与混乱所吞没。

Word by Word

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• अन्तरिक्षम्: the sky/space
• अन्तरिक्षम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तरिक्ष
• Form: neuter, nominative, singular

• न: nor/not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• दिशः: directions/quarters
• दिशः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिश्
• Form: feminine, nominative, plural

• न: nor/not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• अपि: also/even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• योधाः: warriors/fighters
• योधाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: योध
• Form: masculine, nominative, plural

• समन्ततः: on all sides/everywhere
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्ततः

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• antarikṣa (sky/atmosphere)
• diś (directions/quarters)
• yodhāḥ (warriors)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how war overwhelms clarity: when violence peaks, even basic orientation—sky, directions, and the presence of others—becomes indistinct. Ethically, it hints at the dehumanizing fog of conflict, where discernment (viveka) is easily lost.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya, narrating the Kurukṣetra battle to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, depicts a moment of extreme tumult in which the battlefield is so filled with dust, noise, and motion that neither the sky nor the directions nor the surrounding warriors can be properly perceived.