Shloka 57

Devanagari script

तत्र युद्धम भूद्‌ घोरं मुहूर्तमतिदारुणम्‌ । सात्यकिस्तु महाबाहुर्मम हत्वा परिच्छदम्‌

Transliteration

tatra yuddham abhūd ghoraṁ muhūrtam atidāruṇam | sātyakis tu mahābāhur mama hatvā paricchadam ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „Dort wurde der Kampf furchtbar — für einen kurzen Augenblick überaus grausam. Dann drängte Sātyaki, der Starkarmige, nachdem er meinen Schutz (Rüstung und Ausrüstung) niedergeworfen hatte, den Angriff weiter vor.“

Word by Word

तत्रthere

युद्धम्battle

अभूत्was / occurred

घोरम्terrible

मुहूर्तम्for a moment / for a muhūrta

अतिदारुणम्exceedingly dreadful

सात्यकिःSātyaki

तुbut / indeed

महाबाहुःthe mighty-armed (one)

ममof me / my

हत्वाhaving slain / having killed

परिच्छदम्attendant / retinue / equipment (here: attendant)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Sātyaki

yuddha (battle)

paricchada (protective gear/accoutrements)

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 underscores the brutal intensity and rapid reversals of war: even a brief moment can become overwhelmingly destructive, and a warrior’s protection and status can be stripped away instantly—highlighting the fragility of worldly safeguards amid adharma-driven conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that the fighting suddenly turns extremely fierce for a short interval. In that surge, Sātyaki, described as ‘mighty-armed,’ destroys the speaker’s (i.e., the opposing warrior’s) protective covering/accoutrements, indicating a decisive tactical advantage and escalation in the duel.