Shloka 15
रणभूमिवर्णनम् — Devāsuropama-yuddha and the ‘River’ Metaphor of the Battlefield
Devanagari script
संजय उवाच क्षयं मनुष्यदेहानां तथा नागाश्चवसंक्षयम्
Transliteration
sañjaya uvāca kṣayaṃ manuṣya-dehānāṃ tathā nāgāś ca vasaṃkṣayam
Translation
Sañjaya said: “I beheld the wasting away of human bodies, and likewise the destruction of the elephants as well.”
Word by Word
संजयःSanjaya
संजयः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootसंजय
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
उवाचsaid
उवाच:
TypeVerb
Rootवच्
FormPerfect, Third, Singular
क्षयम्destruction; loss
क्षयम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootक्षय
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
मनुष्यदेहानाम्of human bodies
मनुष्यदेहानाम्:
TypeNoun
Rootमनुष्यदेह
FormMasculine, Genitive, Plural
तथाand also; likewise
तथा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतथा
नागाःelephants
नागाः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootनाग
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural
चand
च:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootच
वindeed; also (enclitic)
व:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootव
संक्षयम्complete destruction; annihilation
संक्षयम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootसंक्षय
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Characters & Entities
S
SañjayaH
humans (warriors)E
elephants (nāgāḥ)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
The verse underscores the inevitability of bodily destruction in war, highlighting the ethical gravity of violence and the transient nature of physical life and power (including war-elephants).
Sañjaya, as the eyewitness-reporter to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describes the battlefield scene where human fighters and elephants are being destroyed, emphasizing the scale of devastation.