Shloka 44

Devanagari script

रथनेमिसमुद्धूतं नि:श्वासैश्वापि दन्तिनाम्‌ । रज: संध्याभ्रकलिलं दिवाकरपथं ययौ,रथके पहियों और हाथियोंके उच्छवासोंसे ऊपर उठायी हुई धूल संध्याकालके मेघोंके समान सूर्यके मार्गमें छा गयी थी

Transliteration

rathanemi-samuddhūtaṁ niḥśvāsaiś cāpi dantinām | rajaḥ sandhyābhra-kalilaṁ divākara-pathaṁ yayau ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：尘土被战车轮缘卷起，又被群象的喘息吹扬，浓厚如暮色云团，竟铺展到太阳行经之路上。

Word by Word

रथनेमि-समुद्धूतम्raised up by the rims of chariots

नि:श्वासैःby the breaths

चand

अपिalso/even

दन्तिनाम्of the elephants

रजःdust

संध्या-अभ्र-कलिलम्thick like twilight-clouds

दिवाकर-पथम्the sun’s path

ययौwent/covered/overspread

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

chariot wheels (ratha-nemi)

elephants (dantinaḥ)

dust (rajaḥ)

twilight clouds (sandhyā-abhra)

sun (divākara)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses battlefield dust covering the sun’s course as an image for how the force of conflict can cloud clarity and moral discernment; when violence intensifies, even what is ordinarily evident becomes obscured.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya narrates the battle scene: chariot-wheels and elephants’ heavy breathing stir up immense dust, which becomes so dense that it looks like twilight clouds and seems to cover the sun’s path.