Shloka 1

Bhīmasena’s Kalinga Engagement and the Approach of Bhīṣma (भीमसेन-कालिङ्ग-संग्रामः)

Devanagari script

ऑपन--माजल छा जि: षट्चत्वारिशो5 ध्याय: कौरव-पाण्डव-सेनाका घमासान युद्ध संजय उवाच राजन्‌ शतसहस्राणि तत्र तत्र पदातिनाम्‌ | निर्मयदिं प्रयुद्धानि तत्‌ ते वक्ष्यामि भारत

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | rājan śatasahasrāṇi tatra tatra padātīnām | nirmaryādīni yuddhāni tat te vakṣyāmi bhārata ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Ô roi, sur ce champ de bataille, des centaines de milliers de fantassins combattaient çà et là, et leur lutte avait franchi toute retenue et toute limite convenable. Je vais maintenant te raconter ces affrontements sans loi, ô Bhārata ; écoute.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'sañjaya uvāca', 'definition': 'Sanjaya said (narrative speaker addressing the king)'}, {'term': 'rājan', 'definition': 'O king (vocative

• addressed to Dhṛtarāṣṭra)'}, {'term': 'śata-sahasrāṇi', 'definition': 'hundreds of thousands'}, {'term': 'tatra tatra', 'definition': 'here and there

• in various places'}, {'term': 'padātīnām', 'definition': 'of foot-soldiers/infantrymen'}, {'term': 'yuddhāni', 'definition': 'battles

• combats'}, {'term': 'nirmaryādīni', 'definition': 'without maryādā—without restraint, propriety, or lawful limits (i.e., transgressing accepted rules of war)'}, {'term': 'tat', 'definition': 'that

• those (events)'}, {'term': 'te', 'definition': 'to you'}, {'term': 'vakṣyāmi', 'definition': 'I will tell

• I will describe'}, {'term': 'bhārata', 'definition': 'O Bharata (descendant of Bharata

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'rājan')
• Bharata (dynastic epithet)
• Kaurava army (contextual)
• Pāṇḍava army (contextual)
• battlefield (Kurukṣetra, contextual)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in war, conduct is expected to remain within maryādā (accepted limits and ethical restraints). The verse highlights how battle can devolve into nirmaryāda violence, implicitly contrasting dharmic warfare with chaotic, rule-breaking combat.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya begins describing to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra the widespread, scattered fighting on the battlefield, emphasizing the immense number of foot-soldiers and the breakdown of restraint, and announces that he will recount these events.