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Shloka 46

धृतराष्ट्र–संजय संवादः: कर्ण–घटोत्कचयोर्निशायुद्धवर्णनम्

Dhṛtarāṣṭra–Sañjaya Dialogue: Description of the Night Engagement of Karṇa and Ghaṭotkaca

मुसलैर्मुद्गरैश्वैव गदाभि: कुणपैस्तथा । सुवर्णविकृताभिश्व कशाभिभर्भरतर्षभ

musalair mudgaraiś caiva gadābhiḥ kuṇapaiḥ tathā | suvarṇa-vikṛtābhiś ca kaśābhir bharatarṣabha ||

قال شري كريشنا: «بالمُسَل (musala) وبالمطارق (mudgara) وبالهراوات (gadā)، بل وحتى بالجثث؛ وكذلك بالسياط المصوغة والمزدانة بالذهب—يا ثورَ آلِ بهاراتا!»

मुसलैःwith pestles/clubs
मुसलैः:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootमुसल
FormNeuter, Instrumental, Plural
मुद्गरैःwith hammers/maces
मुद्गरैः:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootमुद्गर
FormMasculine, Instrumental, Plural
and
:
TypeIndeclinable
Root
एवindeed/just
एव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootएव
गदाभिःwith maces
गदाभिः:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootगदा
FormFeminine, Instrumental, Plural
कुणपैःwith carcasses/corpses
कुणपैः:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootकुणप
FormMasculine, Instrumental, Plural
तथाlikewise/also
तथा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतथा
सुवर्ण-विकृताभिःwith gold-ornamented/with golden modifications (ones)
सुवर्ण-विकृताभिः:
Karana
TypeAdjective
Rootसुवर्णविकृता
FormFeminine, Instrumental, Plural
and
:
TypeIndeclinable
Root
कशाभिःwith whips
कशाभिः:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootकशा
FormFeminine, Instrumental, Plural
भरतर्षभO bull of the Bharatas (best of Bharata lineage)
भरतर्षभ:
TypeNoun
Rootभरतर्षभ
FormMasculine, Vocative, Singular

श्रीकृष्ण उवाच

Ś
Śrī Kṛṣṇa
B
bharatarṣabha (address to a Bharata prince, i.e., a Kuru/Pāṇḍava interlocutor)
M
musala (pestle/club)
M
mudgara (hammer/mallet)
G
gadā (mace)
K
kuṇapa (carcass/corpse)
K
kaśā (whip)
S
suvarṇa (gold)

Educational Q&A

The verse underscores how warfare can descend into moral collapse: when restraint and dharma erode, combatants resort not only to conventional weapons but also to degrading, improvised means—signaling the ethical disintegration that accompanies uncontrolled violence.

Kṛṣṇa is describing (to a Bharata hero) the kinds of weapons and implements being used—pestles, hammers, maces, even carcasses, and gold-adorned whips—conveying the ferocity and disorder of the fighting and the breakdown of dignified martial conduct.