Shloka 39

रणभूमिवर्णनम् — Devāsuropama-yuddha and the ‘River’ Metaphor of the Battlefield

Devanagari script

दश दन्तिसहस्राणि सप्त चैव शतानि च । पूर्णे शतसहस्रे द्वे हयानां तत्र भारत

Transliteration

daśa dantisahasrāṇi sapta caiva śatāni ca | pūrṇe śatasahasre dve hayānāṃ tatra bhārata

Translation

善哉耶说道：“婆罗多啊，象有一万，又加七百；并且在那里，婆罗多啊，马亦有整整二十万。”

Word by Word

• दश: ten
• दश: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दशन्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Plural

• दन्ति-सहस्राणि: thousands of elephants
• दन्ति-सहस्राणि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दन्तिन् + सहस्र
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Plural

• सप्त: seven
• सप्त: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्तन्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Plural

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

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• शतानि: hundreds
• शतानि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Plural

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

• पूर्णे: when (it is) complete; in the full (count)
• पूर्णे: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पूर्ण
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• शत-सहस्रे: in a hundred-thousand (i.e., in the count of 100,000)
• शत-सहस्रे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत + सहस्र
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• द्वे: two
• द्वे: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वि
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Dual

• हयानाम्: of horses
• Type: Noun
• Root: हय
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र

• भारत: O Bharata (descendant of Bharata)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra as addressee)
• elephants
• horses

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Though primarily a battlefield statistic, the verse implicitly highlights how vast military pride and material strength amplify destruction; ethical reflection arises from recognizing the enormous cost of war in lives and resources.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the size of the forces present, enumerating the numbers of elephants and horses to convey the magnitude of the host in the Shalya Parva context.