Shloka 19

Devanagari script

एतत्‌ कृत्वा महाराज धर्मपुत्रो युधिष्ठिर: । व्यात्ताननो यथा कालस्तव सैन्यं जघान ह,महाराज! ऐसा पराक्रम करके धर्मपुत्र युधिष्ठिर मुँह फैलाये कालके समान आपकी सेनाका संहार करने लगे

Transliteration

etat kṛtvā mahārāja dharmaputro yudhiṣṭhiraḥ | vyāttānano yathā kālas tava sainyaṃ jaghāna ha ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Having done this, O King, Dharmaputra Yudhiṣṭhira began to strike down your army—like Time itself, with gaping jaws.”

Word by Word

एतत्this (deed)

कृत्वाhaving done

महाराजO great king

धर्मपुत्रःDharma's son

युधिष्ठिरःYudhiṣṭhira

व्यात्ताननःwith mouth wide open

यथाas, like

कालःTime; Death

तवyour

सैन्यम्army

जघानslew, struck down

हindeed (emphatic particle)

महाराजO great king

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Yudhiṣṭhira

Kāla (Time/Death)

Kaurava army

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 frames battlefield destruction through the image of Kāla (Time/Death), reminding the listener that war unleashes an inexorable force where even the righteous (Dharmaputra) must enact harsh kṣatriya duty, and outcomes unfold with a sense of cosmic inevitability.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Yudhiṣṭhira, after performing a preceding action (implied by ‘etat kṛtvā’), advances with fierce momentum and begins cutting down the Kaurava forces, likened to Time with a gaping mouth consuming all.