Shloka 7

Devanagari script

भग्नश्‌ड्जा वृषा यद्वद्‌ भग्नदंष्टा इवोरगा: । प्रत्यपायाम सायाह्ले निर्जिता: सव्यसचिना,हम सब लोग सायंकालमें सव्यसाची अर्जुनसे परास्त होकर शिबिरकी ओर लौटे थे। उस समय हमारी दशा उन बैलोंके समान हो रही थी, जिनके सींग तोड़ दिये गये हों। हम उन सर्पोके समान हो गये थे, जिनके विषैले दाँत नष्ट कर दिये गये हों

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | bhagnāśṛṅgā vṛṣā yadvad bhagnadaṃṣṭrā ivoragāḥ | pratyapāyāma sāyāhle nirjitāḥ savyasācinā ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: At evening, defeated by Savyasācin (Arjuna), we withdrew toward the camp. Our plight was like that of bulls with broken horns, and like serpents with shattered fangs—alive, yet stripped of the power to strike.

Word by Word

• {'sañjaya uvāca': 'Sañjaya said', 'bhagnā-śṛṅgāḥ': 'with broken horns', 'vṛṣāḥ': 'bulls', 'yadvat': 'just as', 'bhagna-daṃṣṭrāḥ': 'with broken fangs', 'iva': 'like', 'uragāḥ': 'serpents', 'pratyapāyāma': 'we retreated/withdrew', 'sāyāhle': 'in the late afternoon/evening', 'nirjitāḥ': 'defeated, overcome', 'savyasācinā': 'by Savyasācin (Arjuna, the ambidextrous archer)', 'śibiram': 'camp (implied by the Hindi gloss

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Savyasācin (Arjuna)
• Kaurava army (implied by 'we')
• camp (śibira, implied)
• bulls
• serpents

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that defeat can render even a large force ineffective—like bulls without horns or snakes without fangs—highlighting how power in war depends on both capability and morale, and how arrogance collapses when checked by superior skill.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava side, having been defeated by Arjuna (Savyasācin), retreated toward their camp at evening, feeling helpless and disarmed in spirit, compared to hornless bulls and fangless serpents.