Shloka 9

Devanagari script

ततो बल॑ भारत भारतानां प्रदह्ममानं समरे महात्मना

Transliteration

tato balaṃ bhārata bhāratānāṃ pradahyamānaṃ samare mahātmanā

Translation

Dijo Sañjaya: Entonces, oh Bhārata, en medio de la batalla, el poder de los Bhāratas empezó a consumirse—como si ardiera en llamas—por obra de aquel guerrero magnánimo.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः
• Form: Avyaya (ablatival adverb: 'from there/then')

• बलम्: army, force
• बलम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: बल
• Form: Neuter, accusative, singular

• भारत: O Bharata
• भारत: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, vocative, singular

• भारत: O Bharata
• भारत: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, vocative, singular

• भारताणाम्: of the Bharatas
• भारताणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, genitive, plural

• प्रदह्यमानम्: being burnt, being scorched
• प्रदह्यमानम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + दह्
• Form: Present passive participle (शानच्), neuter, accusative, singular

• समरे: in battle
• समरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समर
• Form: Masculine, locative, singular

• महात्मना: by the great-souled one
• महात्मना: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, instrumental, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by the vocative 'bhārata')
• Bhāratas (Kuru forces)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical weight of martial power: in war, extraordinary prowess can rapidly annihilate collective strength, reminding readers that victory achieved through sheer destruction carries grave human and moral costs.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, at that point in the battle, the Bhārata forces were being ‘burned up’—devastated—by a great warrior’s onslaught, indicating a sudden and severe turning of the tide.