Shloka 30

Devanagari script

तस्य ते5शो भयन्‌ वक्‍त्र॑ कर्मारपरिमार्जिता:

Transliteration

tasya te 'śo bhayan vaktraṁ karmāraparimārjitāḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: “His teeth, in a face tightened by fear, shone with the hard, polished brightness of metal freshly burnished by a smith.”

Word by Word

• तस्य: of him/that
• तस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: masculine/neuter, genitive, singular

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, dative, singular

• अशो: horse
• अशो: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• भयन्: fearing
• भयन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: भी (धातु)
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), masculine, nominative, singular

• वक्त्र: face/mouth
• वक्त्र: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वक्त्र
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

• कर्मार-परिमार्जिताः: polished/cleaned by a blacksmith (i.e., by a file/abrasion)
• कर्मार-परिमार्जिताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परि-मृज् (धातु) / परिमार्जित (कृदन्त)
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), masculine, nominative, plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• a smith (karmāra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how fear and moral strain in war surface outwardly; inner states—courage, dread, resolve—are not merely private but become visible, reminding the listener that ethical pressure tests the whole person.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a warrior’s fear through a vivid simile: the teeth gleam like metal polished by a smith, emphasizing the intensity of the moment on the battlefield.