Shloka 42

धृतराष्ट्र-संजय-संवादः — दुर्योधनस्य ह्रदप्रवेशः

Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Saṃjaya Dialogue: Duryodhana’s Entry into the Lake

Devanagari script

सा पपात त्रिधा छच्छिन्ना भूमी कनकभूषणा

Transliteration

sā papāta tridhā chachchhinnā bhūmī kanakabhūṣaṇā

Translation

三阇耶说道：“她身披金饰，却坠落于地——被斩作三段。此句冷峻地揭示战斗的残酷终局：纵使华美而受敬重之物，也会在暴力之下化为废墟。”

Word by Word

• सा: she
• सा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• पपात: fell
• Type: Verb
• Root: पत् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परोक्शभूत/परफेक्ट), प्रथम, एकवचन

• त्रिधा: into three parts / threefold
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: त्रिधा (अव्यय)

• छिन्ना: cut, severed
• Type: Adjective
• Root: छिद् (धातु) → छिन्न (क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• भूमौ: on the ground
• भूमौ: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भूमि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• कनकभूषणा: adorned with gold ornaments
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कनकभूषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• golden ornaments (kanakabhūṣaṇa)
• the ground/earth (bhūmi)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the harsh impermanence of worldly beauty and status in the face of war: ornaments and honor cannot protect life, and violence reduces even the adorned to destruction—prompting reflection on the ethical cost of conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a female figure, wearing golden ornaments, collapses to the earth after being cut into three pieces—an intense battlefield image conveying the ferocity of the fighting in the Śalya Parva.