Shloka 46

Rātri-yuddhe Droṇasya prahāraḥ — Bhīmasenasya dhārtarāṣṭra-śūrānām nigrahaḥ

Night Battle: Droṇa’s Assault and Bhīma’s Suppression of Dhārtarāṣṭra Warriors

Devanagari script

कालकेयसहस्राणि चतुर्दश महारणे । योडवधीद्‌ भुजवीर्येण दिष्ट्या पार्थ: स जीवति,“जिसने महासमरमें अपने बाहुबलसे चौदह हजार कालकेय नामक दैत्योंका वध किया था, वह अर्जुन हमारे भाग्यसे जीवित है

Transliteration

kālakeya-sahasrāṇi caturdaśa mahāraṇe | yo 'vadhīd bhujavīryeṇa diṣṭyā pārthaḥ sa jīvati ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “In the great battle, he who by the sheer strength of his arms slew fourteen thousand Kālakeya demons—by good fortune, that Pārtha (Arjuna) still lives.”

Word by Word

• कालकेय: Kalakeyas (a class of daityas)
• कालकेय: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालकेय
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• चतुर्दश: fourteen
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चतुर्दश

• महा-रणे: in the great battle
• महा-रणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महा-रण
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अवधीत्: slew/killed
• Type: Verb
• Root: वध्
• Form: Aorist (Luṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• भुज-वीर्येण: by (his) arm-strength
• भुज-वीर्येण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भुजवीर्य
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• दिष्ट्या: fortunately; by good luck
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: दिष्टि

• पार्थः: Partha (Arjuna)
• पार्थः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• जीवति: lives; is alive
• Type: Verb
• Root: जीव्
• Form: Present (Laṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Pārtha (Arjuna)
• Kālakeya daityas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the epic’s moral lens on warfare: extraordinary martial prowess is acknowledged, yet survival is attributed not only to strength but also to diṣṭi—fortune or providence—suggesting humility before forces beyond human control even for the greatest heroes.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Arjuna—renowned for having slain fourteen thousand Kālakeya daityas in a prior great conflict—has survived the current peril, and Sañjaya expresses relief by calling it ‘by good fortune’ (diṣṭyā).