Shloka 32

Daśame’hani Bhīṣma-yuddham — Śikhaṇḍī-rakṣaṇa, Arjuna-prabhāva, Duryodhana-āśraya-vākyam

Devanagari script

व्यधमत्‌ स गजानीकं गदया पाण्डवर्षभ:

Transliteration

vyadhamat sa gajānīkaṃ gadayā pāṇḍavarṣabhaḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: With his mace, that bull among the Pāṇḍavas smashed the elephant-corps, shattering its formation and spirit in the thick of battle—an image of sheer martial force bent to war’s grim necessities.

Word by Word

• व्यधमत्: smashed/struck down
• Type: Verb
• Root: ध्मा (ध्माति)
• Form: लुङ् (Aorist/Imperfect), परस्मैपदम्, 3, singular

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद् (सः)
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• गज-अनीकम्: the elephant-corps/elephant-division
• गज-अनीकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज + अनीक
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

• गदया: with a mace
• गदया: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गदा
• Form: feminine, instrumental, singular

• पाण्डव-ऋषभः: the bull among the Pandavas (best of the Pandavas)
• पाण्डव-ऋषभः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव + ऋषभ
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Pāṇḍavarṣabha (foremost Pāṇḍava warrior)
• gadā (mace)
• gajānīka (elephant corps)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores kṣatriya-duty in wartime: disciplined force is applied to break hostile military power. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s tension between the harsh means of war and the obligation to act according to one’s role and responsibility.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that the leading Pāṇḍava warrior attacks the enemy’s elephant division and crushes it with a mace, disrupting the elephant-corps on the battlefield.