Shloka 62

Devanagari script

नैको5प्याधिरथेर्जीवन्‌ पाज्चाल्यो मोक्ष्यते युधि । पज्चालान्‌ व्यधमत्‌ संख्ये सूतपुत्र: पुन: पुन:,राजन! कर्णका पराक्रम देखकर मेरे मनमें यही निश्चय हुआ कि युद्धस्थलमें एक भी पांचाल योद्धा सूतपुत्रके हाथसे जीवित नहीं छूट सकता; क्‍योंकि सूतपुत्र बारंबार युद्धस्थलमें पांचालोंका ही विनाश कर रहा था

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | naiko 'py ādhirather jīvan pāñcālyo mokṣyate yudhi | pāñcālān vyadhamat saṅkhye sūtaputraḥ punaḥ punaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O King, seeing Karṇa’s prowess, I became convinced that not even a single Pāñcāla warrior would escape alive from the chariot-fighter (Karṇa) in battle; for the sūta’s son was again and again destroying the Pāñcālas in the thick of the fight.”

Word by Word

• {'sañjaya uvāca': 'Sañjaya said', 'na ekaḥ api': 'not even one', 'ādhirathi / ādhiratha': 'a great chariot-warrior

• here, Karṇa (son of Adhiratha by social designation)', 'jīvan': 'alive

• living', 'pāñcālyaḥ': 'a Pāñcāla (warrior of the Pāñcāla country)', 'mokṣyate': 'will be released/escape', 'yudhi': 'in battle', 'pāñcālān': 'the Pāñcālas (accusative plural)', 'vyadhamat': 'struck down, crushed, slaughtered', 'saṅkhye': 'in combat, in the battle-array', 'sūtaputraḥ': 'the son of a sūta (charioteer caste designation)

• Karṇa', 'punaḥ punaḥ': 'again and again', 'rājan': 'O King (address to Dhṛtarāṣṭra)'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Karṇa
• Pāñcālas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the terrifying momentum of martial prowess in war: once violence escalates, it can appear inevitable and total. Ethically, it highlights how battlefield success is narrated as near-certainty of others’ destruction, reminding readers of the tragic cost that kṣatriya-duty and vengeance can exact.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, after witnessing Karṇa’s valor, he judges that no Pāñcāla fighter will survive against him. He describes Karṇa repeatedly cutting down the Pāñcālas in the midst of combat.