Shloka 59
Devanagari script
हतभूयिष्ठयोधं तत् कृत्वा तव बल॑ बली
Transliteration
hatabhūyiṣṭhayodhaṃ tat kṛtvā tava balaṃ balī
Translation
Sañjaya said: Having reduced your army to a state where most of its warriors were slain, that mighty one brought your forces to such ruin—an image of how sheer strength in war, when unrestrained by dharma, turns victory into devastation.
Word by Word
हतslain, killed
हत:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootहन् (धातु) → हत (कृदन्त)
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular
भूयिष्ठmost, very greatly
भूयिष्ठ:
Karma
TypeAdjective
Rootभूयस् (comparative) → भूयिष्ठ (superlative)
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular
योधम्warrior, fighter
योधम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootयोध (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
तत्that
तत्:
Karma
TypePronoun
Rootतद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular
कृत्वाhaving done, having made
कृत्वा:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootकृ (धातु) → कृत्वा (क्त्वान्त अव्यय)
FormGerund (क्त्वा)
तवof you, your
तव:
TypePronoun
Rootयुष्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक) → त्वद्
FormGenitive, Singular
बलम्army, strength
बलम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootबल (प्रातिपदिक)
FormNeuter, Accusative, Singular
बलीthe strong one, mighty (man)
बली:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootबलिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Characters & Entities
S
SañjayaY
your army/forces (Kaurava bala)T
the mighty one (unspecified in this fragment)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
The line underscores the moral tension of war: might (balī) can annihilate an army, but the resulting devastation invites reflection on whether power is being exercised in alignment with dharma or merely as destructive force.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a powerful warrior has so struck your forces that the army is described as ‘mostly slain,’ emphasizing the scale of losses suffered by the Kaurava side.