Shloka 32

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

Devanagari script

सेनाबिन्दु: कुरुश्रेष्ठ कृत्वा कदनमाहवे

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 berkata: Wahai yang terbaik di antara para Kuru, Senābindu, setelah menimbulkan pembantaian besar di pertempuran, masuk ke dalam rahang Kala (Waktu). Dan Raja Suketu, putra Śiśupāla, setelah membunuh prajurit-prajurit musuh di medan laga, ia sendiri pun tewas oleh tangan Droṇācārya.

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.