Shloka 13

Karṇa-vadha-pratyaya: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Verification of Karṇa’s Fall (कर्णवध-प्रत्ययः)

Devanagari script

तस्मिन्‌ सैन्यमहावर्ते पातालतलसंनिभे

Transliteration

tasmin sainyamahāvarte pātālatala-sannibhe

Translation

সঞ্জয় বললেন—পতালতলের ন্যায় অন্ধকারময় সেই মহাসেনা-ঘূর্ণিতে যুদ্ধক্ষেত্র যেন বিনাশের অতল গহ্বর হয়ে উঠেছিল।

Word by Word

• तस्मिन्: in that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: masculine/neuter, locative, singular

• सैन्य-महा-आवर्ते: in the great whirlpool/maelstrom of the army
• सैन्य-महा-आवर्ते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सैन्य + महा + आवर्त
• Form: masculine, locative, singular

• पाताल-तल-संनिभे: resembling the surface/plane of the netherworld
• पाताल-तल-संनिभे: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाताल + तल + संनिभ
• Form: masculine, locative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• army (sainya)
• Pātāla (netherworld)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the ethical gravity of war: when armies collide in a frenzy, the scene becomes 'Pātāla-like'—a metaphor warning that unchecked wrath and ambition can turn human action into a hellish vortex where moral clarity is lost.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya is describing the battlefield to Dhritarashtra, portraying the massed troops and the chaos of combat as a vast whirlpool, comparable to the dark regions of the netherworld.