Shloka 12

Devanagari script

असम्भाव्यमिदं कर्म देवैरपि जनार्दन

Transliteration

asambhāvyam idaṁ karma devair api janārdana

Translation

Sañjaya said: “This deed is scarcely conceivable—even for the gods, O Janārdana.”

Word by Word

• असम्भाव्यम्: impossible, not feasible
• असम्भाव्यम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: असम्भाव्य
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• इदम्: this
• इदम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदं (तद्-प्रत्ययान्त सर्वनाम)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• कर्म: deed, act
• कर्म: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• देवैः: by the gods
• देवैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• अपि: even, also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• जनार्दन: O Janārdana (Krishna)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जनार्दन
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Janārdana (Kṛṣṇa)
• the gods (devas)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the extraordinary, almost superhuman scale of certain wartime actions and invites ethical reflection: when deeds surpass ordinary human limits, they provoke awe but also scrutiny about power, responsibility, and dharma amid violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, reacts to a remarkable battlefield act and addresses Kṛṣṇa as Janārdana, emphasizing that the feat appears unimaginable even to the gods—underscoring the intensity and exceptional nature of the ongoing conflict.