Shloka 8

Devanagari script

शृणु दुन्दुभिनिर्घोषं शड्खशब्दं च दारुणम्‌

Transliteration

śṛṇu dundubhinirghoṣaṃ śaṅkhaśabdaṃ ca dāruṇam

Translation

三阇耶说道：“听——战鼓轰鸣，海螺号角发出粗厉而可怖的长啸。”

Word by Word

• शृणु: hear; listen
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्रु (शृणोति)
• Form: लोट् (imperative), 2nd, singular, परस्मैपदम्

• दुन्दुभि-निर्घोषम्: the roar/sound of the drum
• दुन्दुभि-निर्घोषम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुन्दुभि + निर्घोष
• Form: masculine, accusative, singular

• शङ्ख-शब्दम्: the sound of the conch
• शङ्ख-शब्दम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शङ्ख + शब्द
• Form: masculine, accusative, singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• दारुणम्: terrible; dreadful
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दारुण
• Form: masculine, accusative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• dundubhi (war-drums)
• śaṅkha (conch-shells)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how war announces itself through overwhelming, fear-inducing signals—drums and conches—reminding the listener that violence carries an inescapable psychological and moral weight even before weapons strike.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, reporting events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, draws attention to the battlefield’s auditory signs: the thunder of drums and the dreadful blare of conches, indicating the armies’ readiness and the intensifying momentum of combat.