Shloka 48

धृतराष्ट्र–संजय संवादः: कर्ण–घटोत्कचयोर्निशायुद्धवर्णनम्

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

Devanagari script

पृथिव्यां पृथिवीहेतो: पृथिवीपतयो हता:

Transliteration

pṛthivyāṃ pṛthivīhetoḥ pṛthivīpatayo hatāḥ

Translation

قال كريشنا: «على هذه الأرض ذاتها، ومن أجل امتلاك الأرض، قُتل سادةُ الأرض.»

Word by Word

• पृथिव्याम्: on the earth
• पृथिव्याम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• पृथिवीहेतोः: for the sake of the earth / due to the earth
• पृथिवीहेतोः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवी-हेतु
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• पृथिवीपतयः: kings (lords of the earth)
• पृथिवीपतयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पृथिवीपति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• हताः: were slain
• हताः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

श्रीकृष्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śrī Kṛṣṇa
• pṛthivī (the earth)
• pṛthivīpatayaḥ (kings/rulers)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical futility of violent struggle for possession: kings kill and are killed for territory, revealing how attachment to power and land leads to ruin and how sovereignty is ultimately transient.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śrī Kṛṣṇa comments on the devastation of the war, pointing out that rulers (pṛthivīpatayaḥ) have fallen because of the desire to control the earth—an observation meant to sober the listener about the real cost and moral irony of the conflict.