Mahabharata 7.32.33 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 32, Shloka 33

Cakravyūha-saṃkalpaḥ, Saṃśaptaka-āhvānaṃ, Saubhadra-vikrīḍitam

Drona Parva, Adhyāya 32

Devanagari script

शूरान्‌ प्रहरतो दृष्टवा कृतास्त्रान्‌ रुधिरोक्षितान्‌

Transliteration

śūrān praharato dṛṣṭvā kṛtāstrān rudhirokṣitān

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Voyant les vaillants guerriers frapper dans la mêlée—maîtres des armes et ruisselants de sang—la scène dévoilait le coût funeste de la prouesse et l’élan inexorable de la guerre.

Word by Word

• शूरान्: heroes, brave warriors
• शूरान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• प्रहरतः: of (him) striking / while striking
• प्रहरतः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-हृ
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Parasmaipada, Active, शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त वर्तमान कृदन्त (present active participle), genitive singular masculine/neuter

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Active

• कृतास्त्रान्: those whose weapons were employed/used (armed, weapon-wielding)
• कृतास्त्रान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कृतास्त्र
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• रुधिरोक्षितान्: sprinkled/besmeared with blood
• रुधिरोक्षितान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रुधिरोक्षित
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• warriors (śūrāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the ethical gravity of war: even the most skilled and heroic fighters become marked by bloodshed, reminding the listener that martial excellence (kṛtāstratva) does not erase the human cost and moral weight of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, reporting the battlefield to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describes the sight of brave, weapon-trained warriors actively striking one another, their bodies splashed with blood—an immediate, vivid snapshot of the intensity of the fighting in Droṇa Parva.