Shloka 37

Devanagari script

पत्तिभिश्न समाप्लुत्य द्विरदा: स्यन्दनास्तथा

Transliteration

pattibhiś ca samāplutya dviradāḥ syandanās tathā

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: Medan perang seakan dilanda banjir pasukan pejalan kaki; gajah-gajah dan kereta-kereta pun turut menerjang, maju berimpit bersama.

Word by Word

• पत्तिभिः: by foot-soldiers
• पत्तिभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्ति
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• न: and/also (particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• समाप्लुत्य: having leapt upon / having assailed
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-√प्लु
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)

• द्विरदाः: elephants
• द्विरदाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्विरद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• स्यन्दनाः: chariots
• स्यन्दनाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्यन्दन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तथा: likewise/so too
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• infantry (patti)
• elephants (dvirada)
• chariots (syandana)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how war quickly becomes an engulfing force: once masses of infantry, elephants, and chariots surge together, the conflict turns into a flood of violence where restraint and discernment are hard to maintain—implicitly warning how collective momentum can eclipse ethical clarity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battle’s press: infantry overrun the field, and elephants and chariots also advance in a dense surge, conveying the scale and intensity of the fighting in Karṇa Parva.