Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 27

Gadāyuddhe Kṛṣṇopadeśaḥ (Kṛṣṇa’s Counsel in the Mace-Duel) — Śalya-parva 57

Devanagari script

आहतस्तु ततो भीम: पुत्रेण तव भारत

Transliteration

āhatas tu tato bhīmaḥ putreṇa tava bhārata

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then Bhīma was struck by your son, O Bhārata—showing how, amid the chaos of war, even the mightiest may face sudden reversals, and how personal loyalties drive the violence on both sides.

Word by Word

• आहतः: struck, wounded
• आहतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आहन् (धातु) → आहत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तु: but, however
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• ततः: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• भीमः: Bhima
• भीमः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पुत्रेण: by (your) son
• पुत्रेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• तव: of you, your
• Type: Noun
• Root: युष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → त्वद्/तव
• Form: —, Genitive, Singular

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

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhīma
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (addressed as Bhārata)
• your son (Kaurava prince; unspecified in this half-verse)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line highlights the instability of worldly power in war: strength does not guarantee safety, and actions driven by attachment to one’s own side (putra, kula) intensify suffering. It invites reflection on the ethical cost of conflict and the limits of pride in martial prowess.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīma, a प्रमुख Pāṇḍava warrior, is struck by Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son (a Kaurava prince). The verse functions as a brief battlefield update within the ongoing combat description in Śalya Parva.