Shloka 37

कर्णवधार्थं धनञ्जयस्य प्रतिज्ञा — Arjuna’s resolve for Karṇa’s defeat

Devanagari script

तत उच्चुक्रुशु: सर्वे हत: पार्थ इति सम ह । ततः शड्खनिनादाश्न भेरीशब्दाश्न पुष्कला:

Transliteration

tata uccukruśuḥ sarve hataḥ pārtha iti sma ha | tataḥ śaṅkhaninādāś ca bherīśabdāś ca puṣkalāḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya dijo: Entonces todos clamaron al unísono: «¡Pārtha ha sido muerto!». Después de ello resonaron estruendosos toques de caracola y abundantes redobles de tambores de guerra.

Word by Word

तत्then/that (at that time)

उच्चुक्रुशुःcried out loudly

सर्वेall

हतःslain

पार्थःPārtha (Arjuna)

इतिthus/that (quotative)

समम्together, in unison

हindeed (emphatic particle)

ततःthereupon/then

शङ्खनिनादाःconch-blasts (sounds of conches)

भेरीशब्दाःdrum-sounds (sounds of kettle-drums)

पुष्कलाःabundant, many

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Pārtha (Arjuna)

śaṅkha (conch)

bherī (war-drum)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how, in war, collective emotion and rumor can rapidly shape perception; ethical clarity (dharma-buddhi) is tested when noise, triumphal signals, and hearsay momentarily replace verified truth.

What is happening in the narrative?

A cry spreads through the warriors that “Pārtha (Arjuna) has been killed,” and immediately conches and war-drums are sounded loudly—suggesting a surge of celebration or agitation in response to the reported fall of a principal hero.