Shloka 25

Devanagari script

ततो दशसहस््राणि गजानां भीमकर्मणाम्‌

Transliteration

tato daśasahasrāṇi gajānāṃ bhīmakarmaṇām |

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Dann vernichtete Bhīmasena mit den zermalmenden Schlägen seiner Keule zehntausend Elefanten von schrecklicher Kraft, die ihn von allen Seiten umringt hatten. Danach zerschmetterte er mit unwiderstehlicher Gewalt noch viele weitere Elefanten und Hunderte von Streitwagen—ein Bild überwältigender Kriegsmacht mitten in einem erbarmungslosen Schlachtfeld, wo Tapferkeit und Vernichtung gemeinsam schreiten.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: avyaya

• दश: ten
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: indeclinable numeral used in compound

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: neuter, nominative/accusative, plural

• गजानाम्: of elephants
• गजानाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, genitive, plural

• भीमकर्मणाम्: of dreadful deeds / of terrible action
• भीमकर्मणाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भीमकर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, genitive, plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhīmasena (Bhīma)
• elephants (gaja)
• mace (gadā)
• chariots (ratha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s war-ethic tension: kṣatriya valor and duty manifest as extraordinary martial force, yet the narrative simultaneously highlights the immense scale of destruction that accompanies such prowess.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports Bhīma’s battlefield feat: surrounded on all sides, Bhīma smashes a vast elephant contingent with his mace, and then continues to destroy additional elephants and hundreds of chariots.