Adhyāya 113: Karṇa–Bhīma Śaravarṣa and the Battlefield Aftermath (कर्णभीमशरवर्षः)
सराक्षसगणा राजन् सकिन्नरमहोरगा । जड़मा: स्थावरा: सर्वे नाल॑ पार्थस्य संयुगे
sa-rākṣasa-gaṇā rājan sa-kinnara-mahoragāḥ | jaṅgamāḥ sthāvarāḥ sarve nālaṁ pārthasya saṁyuge ||
Sañjaya dit : «Ô Roi, quand bien même tous les êtres—avec des cohortes de rākṣasas, avec les kinnara et les puissantes races de serpents—oui, tout ce qui se meut et tout ce qui demeure immobile—se lèveraient pour la bataille, ils ne suffiraient pas à affronter Pārtha (Arjuna) sur le champ de guerre.»
संजय उवाच
The verse conveys that disciplined martial excellence and divinely-favored heroism (as embodied by Arjuna) can surpass even vast numerical or cosmic opposition. Ethically, it heightens the sense that the war’s outcomes are shaped not merely by numbers but by dharma-aligned capability and resolve.
Sanjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra, using sweeping imagery of many classes of beings, that no assembled force could adequately confront Arjuna in battle. It functions as a dramatic assessment of Arjuna’s battlefield dominance within the Drona Parva war narrative.
Curious about the meaning, context, or a word? Ask, and continue the conversation in the Vedapath app.
A free Google sign-in keeps your chat saved across web and the app.
Read Mahabharata in the Vedapath app
Scan the QR code to open this directly in the app, with audio, word-by-word meanings, and more.