Shloka 19

Devanagari script

हन्ति स्मात्र पिता पुत्र रथेनाभ्येत्य संयुगे

Transliteration

hanti smātra pitā putra rathenābhyetya saṃyuge

Translation

Sañjaya said: In the very clash of battle, the father struck down the son, driving straight at him in his chariot—an image that lays bare how war can overturn natural bonds and test the limits of duty and restraint.

Word by Word

• हन्ति: kills/strikes
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (हिंसागत्योः)
• Form: Lat, Present (Vartamana), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• स्म: indeed/just (emphatic particle; often with past narration)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: स्म

• अत्र: here
• अत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अत्र

• पिता: father
• पिता: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितृ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पुत्रम्: son
• पुत्रम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• रथेन: with/by a chariot
• रथेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• अभ्येत्य: having approached/coming up to
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-इ (एति)
• Form: Absolutive (Tumun/ktvā-anta), abhyetya, Active (kartari)

• संयुगे: in battle/in combat
• संयुगे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संयुग
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• father
• son
• chariot
• battle (saṃyuga)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral rupture caused by war: even the most fundamental relationship—father and son—can be overridden by the compulsions of battle and perceived duty. It invites reflection on dharma under extreme conditions and the ethical cost of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a battlefield incident in which a father, advancing in his chariot, attacks and slays his own son amid the fighting, emphasizing the intensity and indiscriminate tragedy of the conflict.