Shloka 117

Devanagari script

तापन॑ सर्वसैन्यानां घोररूपं सुदारुणम्‌ । समावृत्य महासेनां ज्वलन्तं स्वेन तेजसा,'यह अत्यन्त भयंकर एवं घोर भार्गवास्त्र पाण्डवोंकी विशाल सेनाको आच्छादित करके अपने तेजसे प्रज्वलित हो सम्पूर्ण सैनिकोंको संतप्त कर रहा है

Transliteration

tāpayan sarva-sainyānāṃ ghora-rūpaṃ sudāruṇam | samāvṛtya mahāsenāṃ jvalantaṃ svena tejasā ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “That Bhārgava weapon—most dreadful in form and fiercely destructive—has spread over the vast Pāṇḍava host. Blazing with its own radiance, it scorches the entire army, afflicting all the soldiers with searing heat.”

Word by Word

तापनम्burning; torment

सर्वसैन्यानाम्of all the troops

घोररूपम्of dreadful form

सुदारुणम्very terrible; extremely fierce

समावृत्यhaving covered; enveloping

महासेनाम्the great army

ज्वलन्तम्blazing; burning

स्वेनwith its own

तेजसाsplendor; energy; radiance

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhārgavāstra

Pāṇḍavas

Pāṇḍava army (mahāsenā)

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?

The verse highlights the terrifying, impersonal power of astras: once unleashed, they can engulf entire hosts and cause indiscriminate suffering. Ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring concern about proportionality and restraint in warfare—power must be governed by dharma, or it becomes sheer devastation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a Bhārgava weapon being deployed in the battle. It spreads over the Pāṇḍava forces like a blazing cover, radiating its own fiery energy and scorching the soldiers throughout the army.