Shloka 27

Devanagari script

तत्र देवा: सगन्धर्वा ऋषयश्न समागता: । विशेषं न सम विविदुर्हैडिम्बभगदत्तयो:,वहाँ युद्ध देखनेके लिये आये हुए देवताओं, गन्धर्वों तथा ऋषियोंकी भी समझमें यह नहीं आया कि घटोत्कच और भगदत्तमें पराक्रमकी दृष्टिसे क्या अन्तर है

Transliteration

tatra devāḥ sagandharvā ṛṣayaś ca samāgatāḥ | viśeṣaṃ na samaṃ vividur haiḍimbabhagadattayoḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: There, even the gods, together with the Gandharvas and the assembled seers who had come to witness the battle, could not discern any difference in prowess between Ghaṭotkaca of the Haiḍimba line and Bhagadatta.

Word by Word

तत्रthere

देवाःgods

सगन्धर्वाःtogether with Gandharvas

ऋषयःsages

चand

समागताःassembled / came together

विशेषम्difference, distinction

नnot

समम्equally / properly (together)

विविदुःknew / understood

हैडिम्बof the Haidimba (Ghaṭotkaca)

भगदत्तयोःof Bhagadatta (and the other, in dual construction)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Devas

Gandharvas

Ṛ

Ṛṣis

Ghaṭotkaca (Haiḍimba)

Bhagadatta

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 the limits of judgment in the chaos of war: when two warriors display extraordinary valor, even exalted witnesses may be unable to rank them. It suggests humility in assessment and emphasizes that battlefield outcomes are not always predictable or easily measured.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a moment in the Kurukṣetra war where celestial beings and sages have gathered to watch. Observing the combat, they cannot determine any clear superiority in martial prowess between Ghaṭotkaca (of the Haiḍimba line) and Bhagadatta.