Shloka 51

Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)

Devanagari script

केचिदग्रासिना छिन्ना: पाण्डवेन महात्मना । विनेदुर्भिन्नमर्माणो निपेतुश्चव गतासव:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | kecid agrāsiṇā chinnāḥ pāṇḍavena mahātmanā | vinedur bhinnamarmāṇo nipetuś ca gatāsavaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Some were cut down by the mighty son of Pāṇḍu with his sword; their vital spots were shattered, and, crying out in agony, they fell to the earth bereft of life. The verse underscores the grim immediacy of battle—where prowess and duty on the field manifest as swift, irreversible consequences for embodied beings.

Word by Word

• केचित्: some (of them)
• केचित्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क- (किम्-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• अग्रासिना: with a sword
• अग्रासिना: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्रासि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• छिन्नाः: cut off / severed
• छिन्नाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: छिद् (धातु) → छिन्न (क्त-प्रत्यय)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पाण्डवेन: by the Pandava
• पाण्डवेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• महात्मना: by the great-souled (one)
• महात्मना: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महात्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• विनेदुः: they roared / cried out
• विनेदुः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: नद् (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Plural

• भिन्नमर्माणः: whose vital spots were pierced
• भिन्नमर्माणः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भिन्न (क्त) + मर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• निपेतुः: they fell down
• निपेतुः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: पत् (धातु) उपसर्ग: नि-
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अवगतासवः: deprived of life / lifeless
• अवगतासवः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अवगत (क्त) + असु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Pāṇḍava (Bhīmasena, implied by context)
• sword (khadga/agrāsi)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the stark reality of righteous warfare as conceived in the epic: when battle is joined under kṣatriya-dharma, decisive action brings immediate karmic and physical consequences—life is fragile, and violence, even when duty-bound, is grave and irreversible.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the Pāṇḍava warrior (contextually Bhīmasena) striking down opponents with his sword; their vital points are shattered, they cry out, and then collapse lifeless on the battlefield.