Shloka 43

Devanagari script

तेषां समागमो घोरो बभूव युधि संगत: । अन्योन्यस्य वधार्थाय जिगीषूणां महाहवे

Transliteration

teṣāṃ samāgamo ghoro babhūva yudhi saṃgataḥ | anyonyasya vadhārthāya jigīṣūṇāṃ mahāhave ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Their encounter on the battlefield became dreadful—when they closed in for combat in that great war, each side intent on killing the other, driven by the will to conquer.

Word by Word

तेषाम्of them

समागमःmeeting, encounter

घोरःterrible, dreadful

बभूवbecame, occurred

युधिin battle

संगतःjoined, engaged (in close combat)

अन्योन्यस्यof one another

वधार्थायfor the purpose of killing

जिगीषूणाम्of those desiring to conquer

महाहवेin the great battle

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical tension of war: when victory becomes the overriding aim, combat turns ghora—dreadful—because mutual destruction is embraced as a means to conquest, underscoring the grave cost of martial ambition even within a dharma-framed battlefield.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the moment when the opposing forces close ranks and fully engage; their meeting becomes fierce as both sides, eager to win, fight with the intent to kill one another in the great Kurukṣetra war.