Shloka 72

अर्जुनस्य शीघ्रप्रयाणं भीम-शकुनियुद्धं च

Arjuna’s Rapid Advance and the Bhīma–Śakuni Encounter

Devanagari script

वाजिनश्न हतारोहा: पत्तयश्ष गतासव:

Transliteration

vājināś ca hatārohāḥ pattayaś ca gatāsavaḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: The horses too were slain; their riders were struck down, and the foot-soldiers likewise fell lifeless.

Word by Word

• वाजिनः: horses
• वाजिनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाजिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

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

• हतारोहाः: those whose riders have been slain / riderless (lit. with slain riders)
• हतारोहाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: हत + आरोह
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पत्तयः: foot-soldiers
• पत्तयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्ति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

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

• गतासवः: lifeless, dead (lit. whose life has gone)
• गतासवः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गत + असु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• horses (vājināḥ)
• riders (ārohāḥ)
• infantry (pattayaḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the grim ethical reality of war: destruction spreads beyond heroic figures to animals and ordinary soldiers, reminding the listener of the heavy human and moral cost of unchecked violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports battlefield casualties—horses are killed, riders are slain, and infantry lie dead—conveying the intensity and widespread slaughter occurring in the Karṇa Parva battle.