Shloka 32

कर्णस्य सेनापत्याभिषेकः | Karṇa’s Consecration as Commander-in-Chief

Devanagari script

सेनाबिन्दु: कुरुश्रेष्ठ कृत्वा कदनमाहवे

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

senābinduḥ kuruśreṣṭha kṛtvā kadanam āhave |

kuruśreṣṭha senābinduḥ sa yuddhe śatrūṇāṃ saṃhāraṃ kṛtvā kālasya gāleṃ gataḥ |

śiśupālasya putro rājā suketuḥ api yuddhe śatru-sainikān vadhitvā svayam api droṇācāryasya hastena māritaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sagte: «O Bester der Kurus, Senābindu ging, nachdem er in der Schlacht ein großes Gemetzel angerichtet hatte, in die Kiefer Kālas (der Zeit/des Todes) ein. Und König Suketu, der Sohn Śiśupālas, der im Kampf feindliche Soldaten erschlagen hatte, wurde seinerseits von Droṇācārya mit eigener Hand getötet. Die Stelle betont die düstere Gegenseitigkeit des Krieges: Tüchtigkeit bringt Vernichtung, doch am Ende werden selbst die Mächtigen von der unerbittlichen Zeit eingeholt.»

Word by Word

• सेनाबिन्दुः: Senābindu (a warrior/king)
• सेनाबिन्दुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेनाबिन्दु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कुरुश्रेष्ठ: O best of the Kurus
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरुश्रेष्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• कृत्वा: having done/made
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund)

• कदनम्: slaughter, carnage
• कदनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कदन
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• आहवे: in battle
• आहवे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आहव
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Kuruśreṣṭha (Dhṛtarāṣṭra, implied addressee)
• Senābindu
• Kāla (Time/Death, personified)
• Śiśupāla
• Suketu
• Droṇācārya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even heroic success in war is bounded by Kāla (Time/Death): warriors may inflict great destruction, yet they too are inevitably consumed. The verse frames battlefield glory within the ethical and existential reality of impermanence and consequence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the warrior Senābindu, after causing heavy slaughter, has died, and that King Suketu (son of Śiśupāla), after killing enemy soldiers, was slain by Droṇācārya.