Shloka 26

कर्णपर्व — चतुर्दशोऽध्यायः

Arjuna’s Suppression of the Saṃśaptakas; Kṛṣṇa’s Strategic Admonition; Battlefield Inventory

Devanagari script

बाणाभिघातात्‌ संजज्ञे तत्र भारत पावक:

Transliteration

bāṇābhighātāt sañjajñe tatra bhārata pāvakaḥ

Translation

قال سَنْجَايَا: يا بَهَارَتَا، هناك، من شدة اصطدام السهام، اندلع لهيبٌ متأجّج. ففي المناخ الأخلاقي للحرب، قد تغدو الأسلحةُ التي أُعِدّت للنصر أسبابًا لخرابٍ أوسع، مُظهِرةً كيف يفيض العنفُ خارج غايته المقصودة فيلتهم البريءَ مع المذنب.

Word by Word

• बाणाभिघातात्: from the удар/impact of arrows
• बाणाभिघातात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाणाभिघात
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• संजज्ञे: arose / was produced
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular, Ātmanepada

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

• भारत: O Bhārata
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• पावकः: fire (Agni)
• पावकः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पावक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra as addressee)
• bāṇa (arrows)
• pāvaka (fire/Agni)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the unintended escalation of harm in warfare: actions driven by conflict can generate consequences beyond control, symbolized by fire arising from arrow-strikes, urging reflection on responsibility and the wider cost of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that amid the battle, the striking of arrows caused a fire to flare up at the scene, intensifying the chaos and destruction on the battlefield.