Shloka 90

Devanagari script

समागता लोकवीरा: शंखान्‌ दशध्मु: पृथक्‌ पृथक्‌ वासुदेवार्जुनौी वीरौ कर्णशल्यौ च भारत

Transliteration

samāgatā lokavīrāḥ śaṅkhān daśadhmuḥ pṛthak pṛthak | vāsudevārjunau vīrau karṇaśalyau ca bhārata ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Als die unter den Menschen berühmten Helden sich versammelt hatten, blies jeder für sich sein Muschelhorn, getrennt von den anderen. O Bhārata, die beiden Tapferen—Vāsudeva und Arjuna—taten es, und ebenso Karṇa und Śalya. Diese unterschiedlichen Muschelrufe bezeichnen die Bereitschaft der vornehmsten Krieger und verkünden den feierlichen Beginn der Schlacht, in der Ruhm, Pflicht (Dharma) und die Last der Gewalt zusammenlaufen.

Word by Word

समागताःassembled, having come together

लोकवीराःheroes of the people/world

शंखान्conches

दशten (times)

अध्मुःblew

पृथक्separately

पृथक्each separately

वासुदेवVāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)

अर्जुनौthe two Arjunas (i.e., Arjuna together with another; here intended as part of a dual pair with Vāsudeva)

वीरौthe two heroes

कर्णशल्यौKarna and Śalya

चand

भारतO Bhārata

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)

Arjuna

Karṇa

Śalya

conch (śaṅkha)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the martial rite of blowing conches as a public declaration of readiness and resolve. Ethically, it frames war as a solemn, duty-bound undertaking for kṣatriya heroes—where personal valor is displayed, yet the gravity of impending violence is implicitly acknowledged.

What is happening in the narrative?

As the leading warriors assemble, each blows his conch separately. Sañjaya specifically notes the paired heroes Vāsudeva and Arjuna, and also Karṇa and Śalya, indicating both sides’ champions sounding the formal signal that battle is about to commence.