Shloka 13

Devanagari script

कौरवाग्रगजानां तु शरीरैर्गतचेतसाम्‌ । क्षणेन संवृता भूमिमेंघैरिव नभस्तलम्‌,एक ही क्षणमें प्राणहीन हुए कौरवसेनाके आगे चलनेवाले गजराजोंकी लाशोंसे वहाँकी भूमि पट गयी एवं मेघोंकी घटासे आच्छादित आकाशकी भाँति प्रतीत होने लगी

Transliteration

kauravāgragajānāṁ tu śarīrair gatacetasām | kṣaṇena saṁvṛtā bhūmir meghair iva nabhastalam ||

Translation

毗湿摩波耶那说道：只在一瞬之间，那里的大地便被走在俱卢军前列的群象尸身所覆盖，尽皆气绝；其景象宛如苍穹被重重云团遮蔽。

Word by Word

कौरवof the Kauravas

अग्रin the front

गजानाम्of the elephants

तुbut/indeed

शरीरैःby/with the bodies

गतgone; departed

चेतसाम्of those whose consciousness (life) is gone; lifeless

क्षणेनin a moment

संवृताwas covered/filled

भूमिःthe earth/ground

मेघैःby clouds

इवlike/as

नभःthe sky

तलम्surface/expanse

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kauravas

front-line war elephants

earth/ground (bhūmi)

sky (nabhas)

clouds (megha)

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 highlights the suddenness and totality with which war brings death: life can vanish in an instant, and the effects of violence can ‘cover’ the world, suggesting an ethical warning about the heavy, far-reaching consequences of conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

The leading elephants of the Kaurava force have been killed; their bodies quickly blanket the ground. The scene is compared to the sky being covered by dense clouds, emphasizing how completely the battlefield is overwhelmed.