Shloka 9

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

Devanagari script

जलसंधार्णवं तीर्त्वा काम्बोजानां च वाहिनीम्‌ । हार्दिक्यमकरान्मुक्त तीर्ण वै सैन्यसागरम्‌

Transliteration

jalasaṃdhārṇavaṃ tīrtvā kāmbojānāṃ ca vāhinīm | hārdikya-makarān muktaḥ tīrṇaḥ vai sainya-sāgaram ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Nachdem er jene wasserreiche Masse wie einen Ozean und auch das Heer der Kāmboja durchquert hatte und den «Krokodilen» in Gestalt von Hārdikyas Kriegern entkommen war, hatte er wahrhaftig das Meer der Heere überquert.

Word by Word

जलसन्धार्णवम्the ocean at the water-junction (sea)

तीर्त्वाhaving crossed

काम्बोजानाम्of the Kambojas

चand

वाहिनीम्army/host

हार्दिक्य-मकरात्from the crocodile named Hārdikya

मुक्तःfreed/released

तीर्णःcrossed (over)

वैindeed

सैन्य-सागरम्the ocean of the army (vast host)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Kāmbojas

Hārdikya (Kṛtavarman)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses the ‘ocean’ metaphor to highlight how war becomes an overwhelming, morally and physically dangerous environment; to endure it one must keep composure and clarity, avoiding the ‘crocodiles’—sudden lethal threats and destabilizing impulses.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a warrior (implied from context) successfully breaking through dense and dangerous enemy formations—likened to crossing a sea—passing the Kāmboja host and escaping the deadly fighters associated with Hārdikya (Kṛtavarman).