Shloka 27

Devanagari script

तान्यर्जुन: सहस्राणि रथवारणवाजिनाम्‌

Transliteration

tāny arjunaḥ sahasrāṇi rathavāraṇavājinām

Translation

Sañjaya said: Arjuna struck down those thousands—of chariots, elephants, and horses—pressing the battle with relentless force amid the moral weight of fratricidal war.

Word by Word

• तानि: those (things/ones)
• तानि: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• अर्जुनः: Arjuna
• अर्जुनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्जुन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• रथ: chariot
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ
• Form: Masculine, Stem (in compound), —

• वारण: elephant
• Type: Noun
• Root: वारण
• Form: Masculine, Stem (in compound), —

• वाजिनाम्: of horses
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाजिन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Arjuna
• chariots
• war-elephants
• horses

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the scale and intensity of Arjuna’s martial duty (kṣatriya-dharma): even when the conflict is ethically painful, the warrior is shown acting with decisive resolve in the midst of a catastrophic war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Arjuna is overpowering the opposing forces, destroying vast numbers of their principal battle-units—chariots, elephants, and horses—indicating a major turning of the fight through Arjuna’s prowess.