Shloka 95

Devanagari script

द्विसाहस्रान्‌ समरे सव्यसाची कुरुप्रवीरानृषभ: कुरूणाम्‌ | क्षणेन सर्वान्‌ सरथाश्वसूतान्‌ निनाय राजन्‌ क्षयमेकवीर:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

dvisāhasrān samare savyasācī kurupravīrān ṛṣabhaḥ kurūṇām |

kṣaṇena sarvān sarathāśvasūtān nināya rājan kṣayam ekavīraḥ ||

Translation

Dijo Sañjaya: Oh Rey, Arjuna—Savyasācī, héroe sin rival y el más eminente “toro” entre los kurus—condujo a la destrucción en un solo instante a dos mil ilustres guerreros kuru en el campo de batalla, enviándolos—junto con sus carros, caballos y aurigas—a su fin.

Word by Word

• द्विसाहस्रान्: two thousand
• द्विसाहस्रान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्विसाहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• समरे: in battle
• समरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• सव्यसाची: Savyasācin (Arjuna, ambidextrous archer)
• सव्यसाची: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सव्यसाचिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कुरुप्रवीरानृषभः: the bull among the foremost Kuru heroes
• कुरुप्रवीरानृषभः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरुप्रवीरानृषभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कुरूणाम्: of the Kurus
• कुरूणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• क्षणेन: in a moment / by a moment
• क्षणेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• सर्वान्: all
• सर्वान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• सरथाश्वसूतान्: together with chariots, horses, and charioteers
• सरथाश्वसूतान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सरथाश्वसूत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• निनाय: led / sent
• निनाय: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: नी (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• राजन्: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• क्षयम्: destruction / death
• क्षयम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• एकवीरः: single-handed hero
• एकवीरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: एकवीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by rājan)
• Arjuna (Savyasācī)
• Kuru warriors (Kaurava side)
• Battlefield (samara)
• Chariots (ratha)
• Horses (aśva)
• Charioteers (sūta)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the overwhelming, instantaneous destructiveness of war and the immense responsibility borne by a warrior acting under kṣatriya-dharma: a single act of prowess can annihilate multitudes, making the ethical burden of battlefield duty stark and unavoidable.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the king that Arjuna (Savyasācī) single-handedly destroys two thousand leading Kuru fighters in a moment, killing them along with their chariots, horses, and charioteers—emphasizing Arjuna’s battlefield dominance at this point in the Karṇa Parva.