Shloka 26

Chapter 136: Pandava Counter-Encirclement and the Vāyavya-Astra Disruption

Devanagari script

अपिबन सूतपुत्रस्य शोणितं रक्तभोजना:

Transliteration

apiban sūtaputrasya śoṇitaṃ raktabhojanāḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: Those who fed on blood drank the blood of the charioteer’s son, Karṇa.

Word by Word

• अपिबन्: they drank
• अपिबन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: पा (पिबति)
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• सूतपुत्रस्य: of the charioteer’s son (Karna)
• सूतपुत्रस्य: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूतपुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• शोणितम्: blood
• शोणितम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शोणित
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• रक्तभोजनाः: blood-eaters (those who feed on blood)
• रक्तभोजनाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रक्तभोजन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Sūtaputra (Karṇa)
• blood (śoṇita)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how war can erode dharmic restraint: when hatred and bloodlust dominate, conduct descends into cruelty, serving as a warning about the ethical cost of unchecked violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a gruesome battlefield scene involving Karṇa (called ‘sūtaputra’), portraying certain fighters as so savage that they are depicted as drinking blood—an intensification meant to convey the extremity of the conflict.