Shloka 32

Devanagari script

शत्रु: शदे: शासतेर्वा श्यतेर्वा शणातेर्वा श्वसते: सीदते्वा

Transliteration

śatruḥ śadeḥ śāsatervā śyatervā śaṇātervā śvasateḥ sīdatetvā

Translation

সঞ্জয়ে ক’লে—‘শত্ৰু’ শব্দৰ বহু অৰ্থ আছে—যি ক্ষতি কৰে; যি শাসন কৰে বা দণ্ড দিয়ে; যি বিদ্ধ কৰে বা আঘাত কৰে; যি বিনাশ কৰে; যি যেন গিলিবলৈ শ্বাস এৰি দিয়ে; অথবা যি আনক দুখত নিমজ্জিত কৰে।

Word by Word

शत्रुःenemy

शदेःfalls/decays (from √शद्)

शासतेःrules/commands (from √शास्)

वाor

श्यतेःwastes away/withers (from √श्यै/√श्ये)

वाor

शणातेःsounds/resounds (from √शण्)

वाor

श्वसतेःbreathes (from √श्वस्)

सीदतेsinks/desponds (from √सद्)

वाor

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames ‘enemy’ not merely as a battlefield opponent but as anyone who causes harm, subjugation, wounding, or inner collapse—suggesting an ethical lens where enmity is defined by actions and effects rather than by labels alone.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya offers a lexical/interpretive clarification of the term ‘śatru’ through multiple root-derivations, sharpening how the listener should understand ‘enemy’ within the war narrative and its moral stakes.