Shloka 25

Devanagari script

नामभिस्ते मनुष्येन्द्र पूर्व योधा: परस्परम्‌ । युद्धाय समवर्तन्त समाहूयेतरेतरम्‌,नरेन्द्र! पहले उन योद्धाओंने एक-दूसरेके नाम ले-लेकर पुकार-पुकारकर युद्धके लिये परस्पर आक्रमण किया

Transliteration

nāmabhis te manuṣyendra pūrvaṃ yodhāḥ parasparam | yuddhāya samavartanta samāhūyetaretaram ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Ô seigneur des hommes ! Dès l’abord, les guerriers, s’appelant l’un l’autre par leur nom, se défièrent et s’élancèrent—chacun sommant son adversaire d’entrer en bataille, ils se portèrent des assauts réciproques.

Word by Word

नामभिःby (their) names

तेthey

मनुष्येन्द्रO king among men

पूर्वम्formerly/first

योधाःwarriors

परस्परम्each other/mutually

युद्धायfor battle

समवर्तन्तthey advanced/engaged

समाहूयhaving called/summoned

इतरेतरम्one another

नरेन्द्रO king

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

manuṣyendra (the king addressed, i.e., Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

yodhāḥ (warriors)

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 the kṣatriya code of open confrontation: warriors identify and challenge one another directly, emphasizing honor, accountability, and the personal gravity of violence in dharmic warfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the opening movement of combat: the fighters call out each other’s names, issue challenges, and then mutually advance to attack, marking the battle’s escalation from formation to direct engagement.