Shloka 9

Devanagari script

पश्यतां सर्वसैन्यानां तन्मे मर्माणि कृन्तति । परंतु धर्ममें तत्पर रहनेपर भी जो समस्त सैनिकोंके देखते-देखते उनका केश पकड़ा गया, वह अपमान ही मेरे मर्मस्थानोंको विदीर्ण किये देता है ।। मयि जीवति यत्‌ तात: केशग्रहमवाप्तवान्‌

Transliteration

paśyatāṃ sarvasainyānāṃ tan me marmāṇi kṛntati | mayi jīvati yat tātaḥ keśagraham avāptavān ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “In the very sight of all the armies, this cuts into my vital feelings. That my revered father was seized by the hair while I still live—this is an outrage that rends me within.”

Word by Word

पश्यताम्while (they) were seeing / in the presence of (those) seeing

सर्वof all

सैन्यानाम्of the armies / troops

तत्that (act/thing)

मेmy

मर्माणिvital points / sensitive spots

कृन्ततिcuts / rends

मयिin me / while I (am)

जीवतिliving / being alive

यत्that (fact) that

तातःfather / sire

केशग्रहम्seizing of the hair

अवाप्तवान्obtained / incurred / came to have

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

tātaḥ (Sañjaya’s father, unnamed in this verse)

sarva-sainyāni (the assembled armies)

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 war, certain acts—especially public humiliation of an elder—are felt as violations of dharma and human dignity. The verse highlights how dishonor can wound more deeply than physical harm, and how ethical boundaries matter even in conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes an incident witnessed by the entire host: his father (an elder figure) was grabbed by the hair, a gesture of extreme insult. Sañjaya laments that this happened while he was still alive, expressing helplessness and the piercing pain of public disgrace.