Shloka 37

Devanagari script

तथा चरन्तं समरे तपन्तमिव भास्करम्‌ | पदातिकोटिसाहस्रा: प्रवरायुधपाणय:

Transliteration

tathā carantaṃ samare tapantam iva bhāskaram | padātikoṭisāhasrāḥ pravarāyudhapāṇayaḥ

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Ainsi, allant et venant dans la bataille, brûlant tel le Soleil, il fut entouré par d’innombrables milliers de fantassins, les mains portant des armes d’élite—attirés par la crainte révérencielle que suscitait son éclat et par l’élan même de la guerre.

Word by Word

तथाthus, in that manner

चरन्तम्moving about, ranging

समरेin battle

तपन्तम्burning, scorching

इवlike, as if

भास्करम्the sun

पदाति-कोटि-साहस्राःthousands (in crores) of foot-soldiers

प्रवर-आयुध-पाणयःhaving excellent weapons in their hands

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

bhāskara (the Sun)

padātayaḥ (infantry/foot-soldiers)

pravarāyudhāni (excellent weapons)

samara (battlefield)

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 how martial excellence and intense energy in war can draw vast forces around a single radiant fighter; ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between kṣatriya duty (valor in battle) and the destructive scale of warfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a warrior moving through the battlefield with sun-like brilliance, while innumerable infantry—armed with superior weapons—press around him, conveying the density and ferocity of the ongoing combat.