Shloka 32

Adhyāya 41 — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Briefing and the Renewal of the Great Engagement

Devanagari script

शत्रु: शदे: शासतेर्वा श्यतेर्वा शणातेर्वा श्वसते: सीदते्वा

Transliteration

śatruḥ śadeḥ śāsatervā śyatervā śaṇātervā śvasateḥ sīdatetvā

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „Das Wort ‚Feind‘ (śatru) wird in mehreren Bedeutungen verstanden: einer, der schadet; einer, der herrscht oder züchtigt; einer, der durchbohrt oder schlägt; einer, der vernichtet; einer, der den Atem ausstößt (als wolle er verzehren); oder einer, der den anderen in Not versinken lässt.“

Word by Word

शत्रुःenemy

शदेःfalls/decays (from √शद्)

शासतेःrules/commands (from √शास्)

वाor

श्यतेःwastes away/withers (from √श्यै/√श्ये)

वाor

शणातेःsounds/resounds (from √शण्)

वाor

श्वसतेःbreathes (from √श्वस्)

सीदतेsinks/desponds (from √सद्)

वाor

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames ‘enemy’ not merely as a battlefield opponent but as anyone who causes harm, subjugation, wounding, or inner collapse—suggesting an ethical lens where enmity is defined by actions and effects rather than by labels alone.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya offers a lexical/interpretive clarification of the term ‘śatru’ through multiple root-derivations, sharpening how the listener should understand ‘enemy’ within the war narrative and its moral stakes.