Shloka 23

कर्णपर्व — चतुर्दशोऽध्यायः

Arjuna’s Suppression of the Saṃśaptakas; Kṛṣṇa’s Strategic Admonition; Battlefield Inventory

Devanagari script

ततो घोरं महाराज अस्त्रयुद्धमवर्तत

Transliteration

tato ghoraṁ mahārāja astrayuddham avartata

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „Dann, o großer König, entbrannte ein schrecklicher Waffenkrieg.“ Die Zeile kündet die Steigerung von Manöver und Herausforderung zum vollends tödlichen Gefecht, in dem die moralische Last des Krieges unausweichlich wird und die Folgen von Wahl und Pflicht auf allen Kämpfern lasten.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद्
• Form: Avyaya (ablatival adverb: 'from that/thereafter')

• घोरम्: terrible, dreadful
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर
• Form: Neuter, nominative, singular (used predicatively with the subject)

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज
• Form: Masculine, vocative, singular

• अस्त्रयुद्धम्: missile-weapon battle
• अस्त्रयुद्धम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्त्रयुद्ध
• Form: Neuter, nominative, singular

• अवर्तत: arose, took place, occurred
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृत्
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd person, singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Mahārāja (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)
• astrayuddha (battle of missile-weapons)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how quickly conflict can intensify into destructive warfare, reminding the listener that choices made in rivalry and ambition culminate in unavoidable moral and karmic consequences once violence is unleashed.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the fighting has escalated into a fierce exchange of astras—missile-weapons—marking a heightened, more perilous phase of the battle.