Shloka 5536

Devanagari script

नरेषु च महाराज कृतं सम कदनं महत्‌ । महाराज! सूतपुत्रने हाथियों, घोड़ों, रथों और पैदल मनुष्योंके दलमें घुसकर बड़ा भारी संहार मचा दिया था

Transliteration

nareṣu ca mahārāja kṛtaṃ sama kadanaṃ mahat |

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O great king, even among the warriors a vast, even-handed slaughter was wrought.”

Word by Word

• नरेषु: among men
• नरेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• कृतम्: done; made
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त), Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• समम्: equal; impartial; evenly
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• कदनम्: slaughter; destruction
• कदनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कदन
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• महत्: great; huge
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Mahārāja (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral gravity of war: once violence escalates, destruction becomes ‘sama’—indiscriminate—affecting all warriors alike, reminding the listener that battlefield glory is inseparable from collective suffering and ethical burden.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a massive slaughter has occurred among the fighters, emphasizing the scale and impartial spread of casualties in the ongoing Kurukṣetra battle.