Shloka 146

Devanagari script

बिभेद शतधा राजंस्तदद्भुतमिवाभवत्‌ | राजन! भीमसेनने अपनी गदासे कर्णके रथका कूबर तोड़कर उसके सौ टुकड़े कर दिये, वह अद्भुत-सा कार्य हुआ

Transliteration

bibheda śatadhā rājan tad adbhutam ivābhavat

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Ô Roi, Bhīmasena le brisa en cent morceaux ; cela parut presque miraculeux. D’un coup de massue, il rompit la partie avant du char de Karṇa et la mit en pièces.

Word by Word

बिभेदsplit, broke

शतधाinto a hundred parts

राजन्O king

तत्that

अद्भुतम्wonderful, marvelous

इवas if, like

अभवत्became, was

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Bhīmasena

Karna

gadā (mace)

ratha (chariot)

kūbara (chariot-pole/yoke-beam)

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 underscores decisive action within kṣatriya-dharma: in war, disabling the opponent’s capacity to fight (here, by shattering a key chariot component) can be ethically framed as a strategic necessity, and extraordinary prowess is presented as ‘adbhuta’—a sign of the battle’s intense, fate-driven momentum.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīmasena struck and shattered (into a hundred pieces) a crucial part of Karṇa’s chariot—described as an astonishing feat—thereby damaging Karṇa’s mobility and combat effectiveness.