Shloka 36

कर्णस्य दानप्रतिज्ञा–शल्योपदेश–वाक्ययुद्धम्

Karna’s Gift-Vows, Shalya’s Counsel, and the Battle of Words

Devanagari script

योधा योधान्‌ समासाद्य मुष्टिभिव्यहनन्‌ युधि

Transliteration

yodhā yodhān samāsādya muṣṭibhivyahanan yudhi

Translation

योद्धा योद्धाओं के निकट पहुँचकर रणभूमि में उन्हें अपनी मुष्टियों से ही मारने लगा।

Word by Word

• योधाः: warriors (fighters)
• योधाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: योध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• योधान्: warriors
• योधान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: योध
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• समासाद्य: having approached
• समासाद्य: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-√सद्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage), having approached/come up to

• मुष्टिभिः: with fists
• मुष्टिभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुष्टि
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Plural

• व्यहनन्: they struck/beat
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-√हन्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• युधि: in battle
• युधि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: युध्
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• warriors (yodhāḥ/yodhān)
• fists (muṣṭi)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how warfare can strip conflict down to sheer physical force: even a warrior’s valor, when pressed to extremes, may manifest as unarmed brutality—inviting reflection on the ethical cost of battle despite the rhetoric of duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a combatant who rushes up to enemy warriors and strikes them with his fists amid the fighting, suggesting close-quarters chaos where conventional weapons are absent, broken, or set aside.