Shloka 9

अर्जुनस्य गुरुधर्मविलापः तथा शैनेयकर्णयोर्युद्धारम्भः | Arjuna’s Lament on Guru-Dharma and the Opening of the Sātyaki–Karṇa Duel

Devanagari script

जलसंधार्णवं तीर्त्वा काम्बोजानां च वाहिनीम्‌ । हार्दिक्यमकरान्मुक्त तीर्ण वै सैन्यसागरम्‌

Transliteration

jalasaṃdhārṇavaṃ tīrtvā kāmbojānāṃ ca vāhinīm | hārdikya-makarān muktaḥ tīrṇaḥ vai sainya-sāgaram ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Ayant franchi cette masse d’eaux semblable à un océan, ainsi que l’armée des Kāmboja, et s’étant soustrait aux « crocodiles » que formaient les guerriers de Hārdikya, il traversa véritablement la mer des armées.

Word by Word

जलसन्धार्णवम्the ocean at the water-junction (sea)

तीर्त्वाhaving crossed

काम्बोजानाम्of the Kambojas

चand

वाहिनीम्army/host

हार्दिक्य-मकरात्from the crocodile named Hārdikya

मुक्तःfreed/released

तीर्णःcrossed (over)

वैindeed

सैन्य-सागरम्the ocean of the army (vast host)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Kāmbojas

Hārdikya (Kṛtavarman)

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 uses the ‘ocean’ metaphor to highlight how war becomes an overwhelming, morally and physically dangerous environment; to endure it one must keep composure and clarity, avoiding the ‘crocodiles’—sudden lethal threats and destabilizing impulses.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a warrior (implied from context) successfully breaking through dense and dangerous enemy formations—likened to crossing a sea—passing the Kāmboja host and escaping the deadly fighters associated with Hārdikya (Kṛtavarman).