Shloka 33

Bhīmasena’s Kalinga Engagement and the Approach of Bhīṣma (भीमसेन-कालिङ्ग-संग्रामः)

Devanagari script

केचिदाक्षिप्प करिण: साश्वानपि रथान्‌ करै:

Transliteration

kecid ākṣipya kariṇaḥ sāśvān api rathān karaiḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: Some warriors, in the fury of close combat, seized the elephants and even the horse-drawn chariots with their hands—an image of desperate valor and the brutal immediacy of war, where strength and resolve override ordinary limits.

Word by Word

• केचित्: some (people/warriors)
• केचित्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: क (प्रातिपदिक: किम्-शब्द)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• आक्षिप्प: seized / snatched / dragged
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + क्षिप् (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Plural

• करिणः: elephants
• करिणः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: करिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• स: those
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: स (प्रातिपदिक: तद्-शब्द)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• अश्वान्: horses
• अश्वान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• अपि: also / even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• रथान्: chariots
• रथान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• करैः: with (their) hands
• करैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• elephants
• chariots
• horses
• hands (as instruments of action)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the extremity of battlefield dharma for warriors: courage and determination can drive men to superhuman acts, yet it also highlights the harsh, dehumanizing pressure of war where physical force becomes the immediate measure of survival.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes chaotic hand-to-hand fighting in which some combatants physically grab elephants and even horse-drawn chariots with their hands, conveying the closeness and ferocity of the clash.