Shloka 24

Devanagari script

गतपूर्वाह्नभूयिष्ठे तस्मिन्नहनि दारुणे । तावकानां परेषां च पुनर्युद्धमवर्तत,उस भयंकर दिनके पूर्वभागका अधिकांश व्यतीत हो जानेपर आपके और पाण्डवोंके सैनिकोंमें पुनः युद्ध आरम्भ हुआ

Transliteration

gatapūrvāhnabhūyiṣṭhe tasminn ahani dāruṇe | tāvakānāṃ pareṣāṃ ca punar yuddham avartata ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: When most of the forenoon of that dreadful day had passed, the battle once again surged forth between your forces and those of the enemy.

Word by Word

गतhaving passed

पूर्वाह्नforenoon

भूयिष्ठेin the greater part (mostly)

तस्मिन्in that

अहनिon the day

दारुणेterrible

तावकानाम्of your (men)

परेषाम्of the others (the foes)

चand

पुनःagain

युद्धम्battle

अवर्ततarose / took place

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Kauravas (tāvakāḥ)

Pandavas (pare)

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 is primarily narrative, yet it highlights a recurring ethical pressure in the epic: even after intervals, war reasserts itself, compelling both sides to re-enter the arena of dharma—duty, allegiance, and accountability for violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

After most of the morning has passed on a particularly dreadful day of the Kurukshetra campaign, fighting breaks out again between the Kaurava army (Duryodhana’s side) and the opposing Pandava forces.