Shloka 40

Devanagari script

सतं दृष्टवा विनिहतं भीमसेनात्मजेन वै । प्रतिज्ञां भीमसेनस्य पूर्णामेवाभ्यमन्यत,परंतु भीमसेनपुत्र घटोत्कचके द्वारा अलायुधको मारा गया देख उसने यह निश्चित रूपसे मान लिया कि अब भीमसेनकी प्रतिज्ञा पूरी होकर ही रहेगी

Transliteration

śataṁ dṛṣṭvā vinihataṁ bhīmasenātmajena vai | pratijñāṁ bhīmasenasya pūrṇām evābhyamanyata ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Doch als er sah, dass Śata (der so benannte Feind) tatsächlich durch Bhīmasenas Sohn erschlagen worden war, war er überzeugt, dass Bhīmasenas Gelübde nun gänzlich in Erfüllung gehen werde.

Word by Word

शतम्hundred (i.e., a hundred warriors/men)

दृष्ट्वाhaving seen

विनिहतम्slain, killed

भीमसेनof Bhimasena

आत्मजेनby (his) son

वैindeed, surely

प्रतिज्ञाम्vow, promise

भीमसेनस्यof Bhimasena

पूर्णाम्fulfilled, complete

एवjust, indeed

अभ्यमन्यत्he thought/considered

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhīmasena (Bhīma)

Bhīmasena’s son (Ghaṭotkaca)

Śata (the slain opponent)

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 the ethical weight of a pratijñā (solemn vow): in the Mahābhārata’s moral universe, a pledge—especially in a kṣatriya context—creates binding responsibility, and battlefield events are interpreted through the lens of whether such commitments are being honored and brought to completion.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that an opponent named Śata has been slain by Bhīma’s son (understood as Ghaṭotkaca). From this, he infers that Bhīma’s vow is effectively on track to be fully fulfilled, since the removal of this foe marks a decisive advance toward the vowed objective.