Shloka 38

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 109 — Karṇa–Bhīma Yuddha and Durmukha’s Fall (कर्णभीमयुद्धम्; दुर्मुखवधः)

Devanagari script

भज्यमानं बल॑ राजन्‌ सात्वतेन महात्मना

Transliteration

bhajyamānaṃ balaṃ rājan sātvaten mahātmanā

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: O König, das Heer wurde von jenem großherzigen Sātvata-Krieger zerschmettert—ein Bild unwiderstehlicher Macht auf dem Schlachtfeld, wo Tapferkeit und Entschlossenheit die Formationen brechen und die sittliche Standhaftigkeit aller Zeugen erproben.

Word by Word

• भज्यमानम्: being broken / being shattered
• भज्यमानम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: भज् (धातु) → भज्यमान (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन, कर्मणि (passive), शानच् (वर्तमान कृदन्त)

• बलम्: army; force
• बलम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: बल
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Sambodhana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• सात्वतेन: by the Sātvata (Krishna/Vrishni hero)
• सात्वतेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सात्वत
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• महात्मना: by the great-souled one
• महात्मना: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महात्मन्
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Sātvata (likely Sātyaki)
• army (bala)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how, in war, collective power (bala) can collapse before concentrated courage and skill; it also frames the ethical weight of battle through Sañjaya’s witness—victory and destruction arise from human agency, and leaders must face the consequences of the conflict they sustain.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the opposing force is being broken on the battlefield by a great Sātvata warrior (commonly understood as Sātyaki), indicating a decisive surge that disrupts the enemy’s formations.