Shloka 24

Devanagari script

हत्वा विंशतिसाहस्रान्‌ क्षत्रियानरिमर्दन: । दशायुतानि करिणामवधीद्‌ विशिखै: शितै:,शत्रुमर्दन द्रोणने वहाँ बीस हजार क्षत्रियोंका संहार करके अपने तीखे बाणोंद्वारा एक लाख हाथियोंका वध कर डाला

Transliteration

hatvā viṁśatisāhasrān kṣatriyān arimardanaḥ | daśāyutāni kariṇām avadhīd viśikhaiḥ śitaiḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Having slain twenty thousand Kṣatriya warriors, the enemy-crushing hero then, with his sharp arrows, brought down tens of thousands of elephants. The verse underscores the terrifying scale of destruction in the war—valor expressed as martial efficiency, yet ethically shadowed by the immense loss of life and the dehumanizing momentum of battle.

Word by Word

• हत्वा: having slain
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपद-भाव (active sense)

• विंशति: twenty
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विंशति (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: —, —, —, numeral used as first member of compound

• साहस्रान्: thousands (i.e., twenty-thousands)
• साहस्रान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• क्षत्रियान्: Kshatriyas, warriors
• क्षत्रियान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षत्रिय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• अरिमर्दनः: the foe-crusher (epithet)
• अरिमर्दनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अरिमर्दन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• दश: ten
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: —, —, —, numeral used as first member of compound

• अयुतानि: ayutas (ten-thousands); here: ten ayutas = one hundred thousand
• अयुतानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अयुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुं, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• करिणाम्: of elephants
• Type: Noun
• Root: करिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• अवधीत्: slew, killed
• Type: Verb
• Root: वध् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (imperfect), परस्मैपद, प्रथम, एकवचन

• विशिखैः: with arrows
• विशिखैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: विशिख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• शितैः: sharp
• शितैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुं, तृतीया, बहुवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Kṣatriya warriors
• Elephants
• Arrows (viśikha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the paradox of kṣatriya valor: martial prowess is praised through epithets like arimardana, yet the staggering numbers of slain warriors and elephants implicitly raise the ethical weight of war—how duty-driven combat can still entail catastrophic suffering.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a formidable warrior (addressed as ‘enemy-crusher’) has killed twenty thousand Kṣatriyas and then, using sharp arrows, has also slaughtered vast numbers of elephants, emphasizing the ferocity and scale of the fighting in the Droṇa Parva.