Shloka 17

कृष्णोपदेशः, अर्जुनस्य क्षमा-याचनम्, कर्णवध-अनुज्ञा

Krishna’s Counsel, Arjuna’s Apology, and Authorization for Karṇa’s Slaying

Devanagari script

हाहाकारस्ततस्तीव्र: सम्बभूव जनेश्वर

Transliteration

hāhākāras tatastīvraḥ sambabhūva janeśvara

Translation

قال سنجيا: ثم ارتفع عويلٌ شديد—ضجّةٌ طاغيةٌ بين الناس، يا سيّد الرجال—تُنبئ باندفاعٍ مفاجئ للخوف والحزن والصدمة الأخلاقية مما وقع لتوّه في ساحة القتال.

Word by Word

• हाहाकारः: a cry of lamentation; uproar
• हाहाकारः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: हाहाकार
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

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

• तीव्रः: intense; fierce
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीव्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सम्बभूव: arose; came to be
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular

• जन-ईश्वर: O lord of men (king)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन + ईश्वर
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by address janeśvara)
• the people/armies (jana)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the immediate human cost of war: beyond strategy and heroism, violence produces collective anguish and moral disquiet, expressed as a communal cry of distress.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, after a significant and frightening turn in the battle, an intense uproar of lamentation breaks out among the assembled people/warriors.