Mahabharata — Virata Parva, Shloka 29

Adhyāya 55: Pārtha–Rādheya Saṃvāda and Tactical Exchange

Chapter 55

Devanagari script

घ्नन्तमत्यर्थमहितान्‌ विजयं तत्र मेनिरे कालमर्जुनरूपेण संहरन्तमिव प्रजा:

Transliteration

ghnantam atyartham ahitān vijayaṃ tatra menire kālam arjunarūpeṇa saṃharantam iva prajāḥ

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: Seeing Pārtha cutting down countless hostile warriors with overwhelming force on that battlefield, the people there concluded that it was as though Time (Death) itself, having assumed Arjuna’s form, had come to reap the lives of beings. The verse underscores how extraordinary martial prowess, when directed against aggressors in war, can appear as the impersonal, inevitable force of destiny rather than mere human action.

Word by Word

• घ्नन्तम्: killing, slaying
• घ्नन्तम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ (वर्तमान कृदन्त), पुं, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• अत्यर्थम्: excessively, greatly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्यर्थ (प्रातिपदिक)

• अहितान्: enemies, hostile ones
• अहितान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अहित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• विजयम्: victory
• विजयम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: विजय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• तत्र: there, in that place
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र (अव्यय)

• मेनिरे: they thought, they considered
• Type: Verb
• Root: मन् (धातु)
• Form: लिट् (परिपूर्ण/परोक्ष भूत), आत्मनेपद, प्रथम, बहुवचन

• कालम्: Time; Death (personified)
• कालम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• अर्जुनरूपेण: in the form of Arjuna
• अर्जुनरूपेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्जुन-रूप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुं, तृतीया, एकवचन

• संहरन्तम्: destroying, annihilating
• संहरन्तम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-हृ (धातु)
• Form: शतृ (वर्तमान कृदन्त), पुं, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• इव: as if, like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव (अव्यय)

• प्रजाः: creatures, people
• प्रजाः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रजा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्री, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Arjuna
• Pārtha
• Kāla (Time/Death)
• battlefield (samara-bhūmi)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames Arjuna’s battlefield action as resembling Kāla—an impersonal, inevitable force—suggesting that in a righteous war against aggressors, the warrior’s agency can be perceived as aligned with destiny and the cosmic order rather than personal cruelty.

What is happening in the narrative?

On the battlefield, Arjuna (Pārtha) is destroying vast numbers of enemies with extraordinary intensity. Observers, looking toward him, believe that Time/Death itself has taken Arjuna’s form and is annihilating beings.