Shloka 29

अर्जुनस्य गुरुधर्मविलापः तथा शैनेयकर्णयोर्युद्धारम्भः | Arjuna’s Lament on Guru-Dharma and the Opening of the Sātyaki–Karṇa Duel

Devanagari script

न तादूक्‌ कदनं राजन्‌ कृतवांस्तत्र फाल्गुन:

Transliteration

na tādṛk kadanaṃ rājan kṛtavāṃs tatra phālgunaḥ

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „O König, auf jenem Feld richtete Phālguna (Arjuna) kein solches Gemetzel an.“

Word by Word

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• तादृक्: such (of that kind)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तादृश्
• Form: neuter, nominative, singular

• कदनम्: slaughter, destruction
• कदनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कदन
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

• कृतवान्: did, has done
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: क्तवतुँ (क्तवतु), masculine, nominative, singular, active (past/perfective participle)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र

• फाल्गुनः: Phalguna (Arjuna)
• फाल्गुनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: फाल्गुन
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Phālguna (Arjuna)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights ethical gravity through comparison: even Arjuna—renowned for disciplined, dharma-guided warfare—is said not to have caused ‘such’ carnage here, stressing how war can escalate beyond familiar standards and inviting reflection on restraint, responsibility, and the tragic cost of conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, emphasizing that the destruction occurring at this point in the Drona Parva is exceptionally severe—so severe that it is contrasted with Arjuna’s celebrated battlefield prowess, implying an extraordinary agent or circumstance driving the slaughter.