Shloka 27

Devanagari script

तस्मात्‌ सर्वात्मना मन्ये भारद्वाजस्य रक्षणम्‌ । सुगुप्त: पाण्डवान्‌ हन्यात्‌ सृञ्जयांश्व ससोमकान्‌

Transliteration

tasmāt sarvātmanā manye bhāradvājasya rakṣaṇam | suguptaḥ pāṇḍavān hanyāt sṛñjayāṁś ca sasomakān

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „Darum bin ich aus voller Überzeugung der Meinung, dass Bhāradvājas Sohn geschützt werden muss. Ist er gut bewacht, wird er die Pāṇḍavas erschlagen und die Sṛñjayas samt den Somakas.“

Word by Word

तस्मात्therefore/from that

सर्वात्मनाwith all one’s being; wholly

मन्येI think

भारद्वाजस्यof Bhāradvāja (Droṇa)

रक्षणम्protection

सुगुप्तःwell-guarded/protected

पाण्डवान्the Pāṇḍavas

हन्यात्should slay

सृञ्जयान्the Sṛñjayas

चand

ससोमकान्the Somakas (with the Somakas)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhāradvāja

Aśvatthāmā

Pāṇḍavas

Sṛñjayas

Somakas

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 highlights wartime counsel where protection of a key warrior is treated as decisive for victory. Ethically, it reflects how strategic thinking in battle can prioritize outcomes (slaying opponents) over broader considerations, illustrating the tension between pragmatic warcraft and the moral weight of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports an assessment that the son of Bhāradvāja (Aśvatthāmā) should be guarded carefully; if kept secure, he is expected to be capable of killing the Pāṇḍavas and their allied forces, the Sṛñjayas and Somakas.