Shloka 32

Devanagari script

दृष्टवा तु पाण्डवीं सेना दह्यमानां महाहवे

Transliteration

dṛṣṭvā tu pāṇḍavīṁ senāṁ dahyamānāṁ mahāhave

Translation

Sañjaya said: Seeing the Pāṇḍava army burning in the great battle, he reports the scene as one of overwhelming destruction—an image that underscores how war, once unleashed, consumes even the righteous side, testing resolve and dharma amid chaos.

Word by Word

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• दृष्ट्वा: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), कर्तरि

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• पाण्डवीं: Pandava (belonging to the Pandavas)
• पाण्डवीं: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाण्डवी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• सेनाम्: army
• सेनाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेना
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• दह्यमानाम्: being burned
• दह्यमानाम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: दह्
• Form: शानच् (present passive participle), कर्मणि, Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• महाहवे: in the great battle
• महाहवे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाहव
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Pāṇḍavas
• Pāṇḍava army (senā)
• mahāhava (the great battle of Kurukṣetra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the indiscriminate nature of warfare: even those aligned with dharma can be engulfed by devastation. It invites reflection on the ethical cost of conflict and the fragility of human life amid kṣatriya violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the battlefield situation: the Pāṇḍava forces are seen as 'burning'—i.e., being fiercely struck down or consumed by destructive weapons/assault—in the midst of the great Kurukṣetra war.