Shloka 38

द्रोणकर्णयोः निशि संप्रहारः — Night Engagement with Droṇa and Karṇa

Devanagari script

कक्षमग्निरिवोद्धूत: प्रदहंस्तव वाहिनीम्‌

Transliteration

kakṣam agnir ivoddhūtaḥ pradahan tava vāhinīm

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Like a forest-fire suddenly fanned into a blaze, he was burning through your army, consuming it on every side.”

Word by Word

• कक्षम्: armpit/side (as fuel/seat of fire)
• कक्षम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अग्निः: fire
• अग्निः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• इव: like/as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• उद्धूतः: raised up, fanned, stirred
• उद्धूतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उद्-धू
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रदहन्: burning, scorching
• प्रदहन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र- दह्
• Form: Present (participle), Singular

• तव: your
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

• वाहिनीम्: army, host
• वाहिनीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाहिनी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'tava')
• Kaurava army (vāhinī)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the unstoppable momentum of violence once it is ‘fanned’—like a forest fire—suggesting an ethical warning: war, once unleashed, rapidly consumes even those who believe they can control it.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a warrior (contextually understood from surrounding verses) is devastating the Kaurava forces, compared to a sudden forest fire sweeping through dry thickets and burning the army.