Shloka 21

Devanagari script

सम्मोहश्नापि तुमुल: कुरूणाम भवत्‌ ततः । कर्णदुर्योधनौ चापि नि:श्वसेतां मुहुर्मुहु:

Transliteration

sammohas tv api tumulaḥ kurūṇāṁ abhavat tataḥ | karṇa-duryodhanau cāpi niḥśvasetāṁ muhur muhuḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then a fierce bewilderment seized the Kurus. Karṇa and Duryodhana too kept heaving deep sighs again and again—an outward sign of their shaken resolve amid the moral and strategic shock of the moment.

Word by Word

सम्मोहःbewilderment, confusion

चand

अपिalso, even

तुमुलःviolent, tumultuous

कुरूणाम्of the Kurus

अभवत्arose, happened, became

ततःthen, thereafter

कर्णKarna

दुर्योधनौDuryodhana (as one of the two)

चand

अपिalso

नि:श्वसेताम्breathed hard, sighed

मुहुःagain and again

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Kurus (Kauravas)

Karna

Duryodhana

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how inner confusion (sammohā) manifests outwardly and undermines leadership. In a dharmic frame, when one’s cause and conduct are ethically unstable, moments of crisis produce agitation and loss of clarity, visible even in the body (repeated sighing).

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that, after a significant turn in events, the Kuru forces fall into intense confusion. Even key leaders—Karna and Duryodhana—repeatedly sigh, indicating distress, uncertainty, and a shaken strategic and emotional state on the battlefield.