Shloka 20

Bhīma–Duryodhana Gadāyuddha Saṃkalpa

Resolve for the Mace Duel

Devanagari script

बाह्लीकद्रोणभीष्माणां कर्णस्य च महात्मन: । जयद्रथस्य शूरस्य भगदत्तस्य चोभयो:

Transliteration

bāhlīka-droṇa-bhīṣmāṇāṃ karṇasya ca mahātmanaḥ | jayadrathasya śūrasya bhagadattasya cobhayoḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „(Er nannte) Bāhlīka, Droṇa und Bhīṣma; den großgesinnten Karṇa; den heldenhaften Jayadratha; und Bhagadatta—die vornehmsten Krieger beider Seiten.“

Word by Word

बाह्लीकof Bāhlīka

द्रोणof Droṇa

भीष्माणाम्of Bhīṣma (lit. of the Bhīṣmas; used honorifically/poetically)

कर्णस्यof Karṇa

चand

महात्मनःof the great-souled (one)

जयद्रथस्यof Jayadratha

शूरस्यof the hero/brave one

भगदत्तस्यof Bhagadatta

चand

उभयोःof both (of the two)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

स

संजय (Sañjaya)

ब

बाह्लीक (Bāhlīka)

द

द्रोण (Droṇa)

भ

भीष्म (Bhīṣma)

क

कर्ण (Karṇa)

ज

जयद्रथ (Jayadratha)

भ

भगदत्त (Bhagadatta)

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 how war narratives preserve memory of exemplary figures—teachers, elders, and famed heroes—inviting reflection on how reputation, duty, and allegiance shape ethical judgment even amid conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya continues a report that names major warriors—Bāhlīka, Droṇa, Bhīṣma, Karṇa, Jayadratha, and Bhagadatta—framing them as leading figures whose deeds and roles are being recalled in the account of the battle.