Shloka 12

Devanagari script

सदेवासुरगन्धर्वास्त्रील्लॉकान्‌ सचराचरान्‌

Transliteration

sadevāsuragandharvāstrīllokān sacarācarān

Translation

Sañjaya said: “(He beheld/overwhelmed) the three worlds—together with the gods, the asuras, and the gandharvas—indeed all that moves and all that is unmoving.”

Word by Word

• सदेव: together with the gods
• सदेव: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स + देव
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• असुर: demons (asuras)
• असुर: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: असुर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• गन्धर्व: gandharvas (celestial musicians)
• गन्धर्व: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्धर्व
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• त्रीन्: three
• त्रीन्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• लोकान्: worlds
• लोकान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोक
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• सचराचरान्: together with the moving and the unmoving (all beings)
• सचराचरान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स + चराचर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• devas
• asuras
• gandharvas
• three worlds (trailokya)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse heightens the moral and narrative scale of the battle by invoking the entire cosmos—gods, hostile powers, and celestial beings—implying that human actions in dharma-yuddha can reverberate across all realms, and that extraordinary prowess or terror can seem to encompass ‘all that moves and does not move’.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, reporting events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describes a moment of overwhelming, world-encompassing impact—suggesting that a warrior’s display (or the scene of battle) appears to affect the three worlds, including celestial orders (devas, asuras, gandharvas) and all beings, animate and inanimate.