Shloka 33

कर्ण-पाण्डव-संमर्दः — Karṇa and Arjuna’s Intensified Engagement

Devanagari script

यमराष्ट्रोपमं घोरमासीदायोधनं तयो: । दुर्दर्श भरतश्रेष्ठ प्रेतराजपुरं यथा,भरतश्रेष्ठ! उन दोनोंका संग्राम यमराजके राज्यके समान अत्यन्त भयंकर था। प्रेतराजकी पुरीके समान उसकी ओर देखना अत्यन्त कठिन हो रहा था

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | yamarāṣṭropamaṃ ghoraṃ āsīd āyodhanaṃ tayoḥ | durdarśa bharataśreṣṭha pretarājapuraṃ yathā ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: Wahai yang terbaik di antara Bharata, pertempuran antara keduanya menjadi mengerikan, laksana negeri Yama; sukar dipandang, bagaikan kota Raja arwah.

Word by Word

यमof Yama

राष्ट्रkingdom/state

उपमम्like, comparable to

घोरम्terrible

आसीत्was

आयोधनम्battle, combat

तयोःof those two

दुर्दर्शम्hard to look at

भरतश्रेष्ठO best of the Bharatas

प्रेतराजof the lord of the departed (Yama)

पुरम्city

यथाas, like

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bharataśreṣṭha (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

Yama (Pretarāja)

Yamarāṣṭra (realm of Yama)

Pretarājapura (city of the Lord of the departed)

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 the ethical gravity of war: when combat turns utterly fearsome, it resembles the realm of Death itself. The simile warns that violence, even within kṣatriya duty, can cross into a morally chilling space where the human capacity to witness and endure is strained.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the clash between the two sides/warriors has become so dreadful that it feels like Yama’s kingdom; the battlefield is nearly unwatchable, like the city of the Lord of the dead.