Shloka 32

कर्णस्य सेनापत्याभिषेकः | Karṇa’s Consecration as Commander-in-Chief

Devanagari script

सेनाबिन्दु: कुरुश्रेष्ठ कृत्वा कदनमाहवे,कुरुश्रेष्ठ! सेनाविन्दु भी युद्धमें शत्रुओंका संहार करके कालके गालमें चला गया। शिशुपालका पुत्र राजा सुकेतु भी युद्धमें शत्रुसैनिकोंका वध करके स्वयं भी द्रोणाचार्यके हाथसे मारा गया

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

senābinduḥ kuruśreṣṭha kṛtvā kadanam āhave |

kuruśreṣṭha senābinduḥ sa yuddhe śatrūṇāṃ saṃhāraṃ kṛtvā kālasya gāleṃ gataḥ |

śiśupālasya putro rājā suketuḥ api yuddhe śatru-sainikān vadhitvā svayam api droṇācāryasya hastena māritaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : «Ô le meilleur des Kuru, Senābindu, après avoir causé un grand carnage dans la bataille, alla tomber dans les mâchoires de Kāla (le Temps/la Mort). Et le roi Suketu, fils de Śiśupāla, après avoir abattu des soldats ennemis au combat, fut lui aussi tué de la main de Droṇācārya. Ce passage souligne la sombre réciprocité de la guerre : la prouesse engendre la destruction, et même les puissants sont finalement réclamés par le Temps inexorable.»

Word by Word

• सेनाबिन्दुः: Senābindu (a warrior/king)
• सेनाबिन्दुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेनाबिन्दु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कुरुश्रेष्ठ: O best of the Kurus
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरुश्रेष्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• कृत्वा: having done/made
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund)

• कदनम्: slaughter, carnage
• कदनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कदन
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• आहवे: in battle
• आहवे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आहव
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Kuruśreṣṭha (Dhṛtarāṣṭra, implied addressee)
• Senābindu
• Kāla (Time/Death, personified)
• Śiśupāla
• Suketu
• Droṇācārya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even heroic success in war is bounded by Kāla (Time/Death): warriors may inflict great destruction, yet they too are inevitably consumed. The verse frames battlefield glory within the ethical and existential reality of impermanence and consequence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the warrior Senābindu, after causing heavy slaughter, has died, and that King Suketu (son of Śiśupāla), after killing enemy soldiers, was slain by Droṇācārya.