Shloka 128

Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout

Devanagari script

तदनन्तर दो ही घड़ीमें कराहते और विलाप करते हुए मनुष्योंका वह भयंकर कोलाहल शान्त हो गया ।।

Transliteration

tad-anantaraṁ dvi hi ghaḍī-madhye karāhate vilapate ca manuṣyāṇāṁ sa bhayaṅkaraḥ kolāhalaḥ śāntaḥ abhavat | śoṇita-vyatīṣiktāyāṁ vasudhāyāṁ ca bhūmipa | tad-rajas tumulaṁ ghoraṁ kṣaṇenāntaradhīyata rājān |

Translation

其后不过两伽陀时之间，人们呻吟哀哭的可怖喧嚣便归于寂静。大王啊，在那被鲜血浸透、涂抹的土地上，先前翻卷腾起的骇人尘暴，也在顷刻间消散无踪。

Word by Word

• शोणित: with blood
• शोणित: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शोणित
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental (in compound sense), Singular

• व्यतिषिक्तायाम्: smeared/sprinkled over
• व्यतिषिक्तायाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: व्यतिसिच् (क्त)
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• वसुधायाम्: on the earth
• वसुधायाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वसुधा
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

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

• भूमिप: O king (lord of the earth)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमिप
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• रजः: dust
• रजः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: रजस्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• तुमुलम्: tumultuous, dense
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तुमुल
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• घोरम्: terrible
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• क्षणेन: in a moment
• क्षणेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षण
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• अन्तर्धीयत्: disappeared, vanished
• Type: Verb
• Root: अन्तर्धा + इ (अन्तर्धीयते)
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular, Ātmanepada

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• rājā (Dhṛtarāṣṭra, implied addressee)
• vasudhā (earth/ground)
• śoṇita (blood)
• rajas (dust)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the moral and existential aftermath of violence: intense suffering and chaos are transient, but the consequences—symbolized by blood-soaked earth—remain as a stark witness. It invites reflection on the ethical cost of war and the hollow quiet that follows cruelty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the king that the terrifying cries of wounded and dying men cease within a short time, and the thick, dreadful dust stirred up during the slaughter settles and disappears upon the blood-drenched ground—signaling that the night’s carnage has reached a grim stillness.