Shloka 12

Devanagari script

श्रुतकर्मा ततो राजन्‌ शत्रुणा समभिद्रुत: । शत्रुसंवारणं क्रुद्धों द्विधा चिच्छेद कार्मुकम्‌,राजन! शत्रुके द्वारा इस प्रकार आक्रान्त होनेपर श्रुतकर्मा कुपित हो उठा और उसने राजा चित्रसेनके शत्रु-निवारक धनुषके दो टुकड़े कर डाले

Transliteration

śrutakarmā tato rājan śatruṇā samabhidrutaḥ | śatrusaṃvāraṇaṃ kruddho dvidhā ciccheda kārmukam ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then, O King, Śrutakarmā—assailed headlong by his foe—flared up in wrath and cut in two the enemy-checking bow.

Word by Word

श्रुतकर्माShrutakarman (a warrior)

ततःthen, thereafter

राजन्O king

शत्रुणाby the enemy

समभिद्रुतःrushed at, attacked

शत्रुसंवारणम्enemy-repelling (i.e., that which wards off enemies)

क्रुद्धःangry

द्विधाinto two, in two parts

चिच्छेदcut, severed

कार्मुकम्bow

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (addressed as rājan)

Śrutakarmā

śatru (enemy/opponent)

kārmuka (bow)

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?

In battlefield ethics and kṣatriya practice, disabling an opponent’s weapon is a decisive tactic; the verse also cautions that anger (krodha) can intensify violence, turning combat into swift escalation rather than measured engagement.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śrutakarmā is attacked by an enemy; becoming enraged, he responds by cutting the opponent’s bow—described as ‘enemy-restraining’—into two pieces, thereby neutralizing the foe’s immediate offensive capacity.