Shloka 15

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 114 — Karṇa–Bhīmasena Missile Exchange, Disarmament, and Arjuna’s Intervention

Devanagari script

अभिजानामि त॑ देशं यत्र यास्याम्यहं प्रभो । हलशक्तिगदाप्रासचर्मखड््‌गर्धितोमरम्‌

Transliteration

abhijānāmi taṁ deśaṁ yatra yāsyāmy ahaṁ prabho | halaśaktigadāprāsacarmakhaḍgārdhitomarām ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O lord, I recognize that region to which I shall go—where the ground is strewn and bristling with weapons: plough-like blades, spears, maces, lances, shields, swords, and barbed javelins.”

Word by Word

• अभिजानामि: I know/recognize
• अभिजानामि: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-ज्ञा (धातु: ज्ञा)
• Form: लट् (वर्तमान), उत्तम, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• तत्: that
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसक, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• देशम्: place/region
• देशम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: देश
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• यत्र: where
• यत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यत्र

• यास्यामि: I shall go
• यास्यामि: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: या (धातु: या)
• Form: लृट् (भविष्यत्), उत्तम, एकवचन, परस्मैपद

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अहम् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: त्रिलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• प्रभो: O lord/master
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रभु
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• हल-शक्ति-गदा-प्रास-चर्म-खड्ग-ऋद्धि-तोमरम्: a tomara (javelin) endowed with plough, spear, mace, lance, shield, sword, and prosperity/power (i.e., richly furnished/armed)
• हल-शक्ति-गदा-प्रास-चर्म-खड्ग-ऋद्धि-तोमरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: तोमर (प्रधान-प्रातिपदिक); उपपद-समासाङ्गानि: हल, शक्ति, गदा, प्रास, चर्म, खड्ग, ऋद्धि
• Form: नपुंसक, द्वितीया, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• prabhu (addressed lord, i.e., Dhṛtarāṣṭra)
• deśa (region/place)
• hala
• śakti
• gadā
• prāsa
• carma (shield)
• khaḍga
• ardhi
• tomara

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the stark reality of war: a recognizable landscape defined not by sacred markers but by instruments of harm. Ethically, it invites reflection on how adharma and unchecked conflict transform a ‘place’ into a field of weapons, reminding the listener that violence leaves an unmistakable imprint.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, reporting to the king, describes recognizing the area he is to approach as a battlefield zone crowded with various weapons—maces, spears, shields, swords, and javelins—evoking the intensity and material devastation of the ongoing combat in Droṇa-parvan.