Mahabharata 7.47.23 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 47, Shloka 23

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 47 — Abhimanyu’s rapid exchanges, counsel to disable his chariot-system

Devanagari script

बभज्ज च सहस्राणि दश राज्ञां महात्मनाम्‌ | सृजतामशिवा वाच: खड्गकार्मुकधारिणाम्‌,इसके बाद अशुभ वचन बोलनेवाले तथा खड्ग एवं धनुष धारण करनेवाले दस हजार महामनस्वी राजाओंका भी उसने संहार कर डाला

Transliteration

babhajja ca sahasrāṇi daśa rājñāṁ mahātmanām | sṛjatām aśivā vācaḥ khaḍga-kārmuka-dhāriṇām ||

Translation

Sañjaya dijo: Después, también quebrantó y dio muerte a diez mil reyes magnánimos—guerreros que empuñaban espada y arco—que lanzaban gritos crueles y de mal agüero. El pasaje subraya que, en el frenesí del combate, la palabra áspera y la intención violenta acompañan a las armas, y que la matanza en masa se vuelve la consecuencia sombría de una hostilidad movida por el adharma en el campo de batalla.

Word by Word

• बभञ्ज: broke, shattered, destroyed
• बभञ्ज: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: भञ्ज्
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

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

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• दश: ten
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश
• Form: —, —, —

• राज्ञाम्: of kings
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• महात्मनाम्: of great-souled (ones)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• सृजताम्: of (those) uttering/letting loose
• Type: Verb
• Root: सृज्
• Form: Present active participle (शतृ), Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• अशिवाः: inauspicious
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अशिव
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• वाचः: words, speeches
• वाचः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाच्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Plural

• खड्ग-कार्मुक-धारिणाम्: of sword-and-bow bearers
• Type: Adjective
• Root: खड्गकार्मुकधारिन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• ten thousand kings
• sword (khaḍga)
• bow (kārmuka)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical weight of war: armed aggression joined with cruel, ill-omened speech leads to catastrophic destruction. It implicitly warns that inner hostility (expressed as aśivā vācaḥ) and outward violence reinforce each other, accelerating adharma and its consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a powerful warrior (implied by context) overwhelms the battlefield, crushing even a vast contingent—ten thousand noble kings—who are armed with swords and bows and are shouting harsh, inauspicious words as they fight.