Shloka 32

Devanagari script

पाण्डवैः सह पज्चालैरशिवै: क्रूरकर्मभि: । हतो रुक्मरथो राजन्‌ कृत्वा कर्म सुदुष्करम्‌,राजन्‌! सुवर्णमय रथवाले द्रोणाचार्य अत्यन्त दुष्कर पराक्रम करके अन्तमें पाण्डवोंसहित अमंगलकारी क्रूरकर्मा पांचालोंके हाथसे मारे गये

Transliteration

pāṇḍavaiḥ saha pañcālair aśivaiḥ krūrakarmabhiḥ | hato rukmaratho rājan kṛtvā karma suduṣkaram ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: O König, Rukmaratha, nachdem er eine höchst schwer zu vollbringende Waffentat vollbracht hatte, wurde von den Pāṇḍavas zusammen mit den Pañcālas erschlagen—Männern grausamer Taten und unheilvollen Sinnes.

Word by Word

पाण्डवैःby the Pandavas

सहtogether with

पाञ्चालैःby the Panchalas

अशिवैःinauspicious, ill-omened

क्रूरकर्मभिःof cruel deeds

हतःslain

रुक्मरथःRukmaratha (he whose chariot is golden)

राजन्O king

कृत्वाhaving done

कर्मa deed

सुदुष्करम्very difficult (to do)

राजन्O king

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Rukmaratha

Pāṇḍavas

Pañcālas

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 instability of worldly success in war: even after extraordinary valor, one may fall to determined opponents. It also hints at the ethical degradation of battle, where cruelty and ill-omened intent can dominate outcomes, challenging simple notions of merit and reward.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the warrior Rukmaratha, despite performing a formidable martial exploit, is ultimately slain by the combined forces of the Pāṇḍavas and the Pañcālas.