Shloka 36

Devanagari script

अदहत्‌ पाण्डवीं सेनां रथाश्चवगजसंकुलाम्‌ | मज्जन्तमप्लवे मन्दमुज्जिहीर्ष: सुयोधनम्‌

Transliteration

adahat pāṇḍavīṁ senāṁ rathāś ca vagaja-saṅkulām | majjantaṁ aplave mandam ujjihīrṣaḥ suyodhanam ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: Ia membakar bala Pāṇḍava yang penuh sesak oleh kereta, kuda, dan gajah, demi mengangkat Suyodhana yang tanpa sarana pertolongan tengah tenggelam dalam bencana.

Word by Word

• अदहत्: burned, scorched
• अदहत्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: दह्
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), 3, Singular, Parasmaipada

• पाण्डवीं: Pandava (belonging to the Pandavas)
• पाण्डवीं: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाण्डवी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• सेनाम्: army
• सेनाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेना
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• रथान्: chariots
• रथान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• अवगजसंकुलाम्: crowded with horses and elephants
• अवगजसंकुलाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अव-गज-संकुल
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• मज्जन्तम्: sinking
• मज्जन्तम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: मज्जत्
• Form: Present active participle (Parasmaipada), Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अप्लवे: in (a place) without a boat / without a means of crossing
• अप्लवे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अप्लव
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• मन्दम्: slow, feeble
• मन्दम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मन्द
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• उज्जिहीर्षः: wishing to lift out / desiring to rescue
• उज्जिहीर्षः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्-√हृ (जिहीर्षु)
• Form: Desiderative participle (icchārtha), nominative, Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सुयोधनम्: Suyodhana (Duryodhana)
• सुयोधनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुयोधन
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Pāṇḍava army
• Suyodhana (Duryodhana)
• chariots
• horses
• elephants

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how loyalty to a leader in crisis can drive extreme violence: the impulse to ‘save’ one’s own side may eclipse broader ethical restraint, revealing the tragic moral cost of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a warrior devastates the Pāṇḍava forces—packed with chariots, horses, and elephants—motivated by the aim of rescuing Suyodhana (Duryodhana), portrayed as helplessly ‘sinking’ without any means of escape.