Shloka 196

Devanagari script

उद्देशेन हि तेन सम समयुध्यन्त पार्थिवा: । राजन! वे शत्रुसैनिक तथा हमलोग आपसमें कोई किसीको पहचान नहीं पाते थे। इसलिये नाम बतानेसे ही राजालोग एक-दूसरेके साथ युद्ध करते थे

Transliteration

uddeśena hi tena sama-samāyudhyanta pārthivāḥ | rājan! te śatru-sainikāḥ tathā vayam ātmanaḥ parasparaṃ na kaṃcid api pratyabhijānīmaḥ | tasmān nāma-nivedanenaiva rājānaḥ parasparaṃ saha yuddham akurvan |

Translation

Sanjaya said: O King, because of that agreed signal, the kings fought on equal terms. In that press of battle, the enemy’s soldiers and we could not recognize one another at all. Therefore the rulers engaged each other only after declaring their names—so that combat might proceed with some order and accountability amid the confusion of war.

Word by Word

उद्देशेनby indication/mention (of name)

हिindeed/for

तेनby that/therefore

समtogether/equally

समयुध्यन्तthey fought

पार्थिवाःkings/earthly rulers

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Dhritarashtra

kings (pārthivāḥ)

enemy soldiers (śatru-sainikāḥ)

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?

Even amid violent conflict, the narrative highlights a concern for regulated combat: recognition and naming serve as a minimal ethical restraint, preserving accountability and reducing indiscriminate killing in the chaos of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports to King Dhritarashtra that the battlefield had become so confused that fighters could not recognize friend or foe; therefore kings announced their names and then fought each other according to an agreed signal or arrangement.