Shloka 28

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 107: Karṇa–Bhīma Saṃmarda

Arrow-storm Engagement

Devanagari script

नवैते तव वाहिन्यामुच्छिता: परमध्वजा:

Transliteration

navaite tava vāhinyām ucchitāḥ paramadhvajāḥ

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „Diese vornehmsten Bannerträger sind nun in deinem Heer niedergestreckt worden.“ Die Meldung betont die düstere moralische Last des Krieges: Selbst die berühmtesten Kämpfer, kenntlich an hohen Standarten und Ruhm, werden nicht verschont, wenn ein von Adharma getriebener Konflikt seine größte Heftigkeit erreicht.

Word by Word

नnot

वैindeed, surely

एतेthese

तवof you, your

वाहिन्याम्in the army

उच्छिताःleft remaining, surviving

परमध्वजाःchief-bannered warriors (leaders with lofty standards)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

your army (Kaurava host)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the impermanence of worldly power and prestige in war: even the ‘foremost standard-bearers’ fall. Ethically, it points to the heavy cost of violent conflict and the sobering accountability leaders bear when armies are driven into destruction.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that nine eminent warriors—described as ‘paramadhvajāḥ’—have been slain within the Kaurava forces, emphasizing the scale and seriousness of the losses.