Shloka 34

कृष्णोपदेशः, अर्जुनस्य क्षमा-याचनम्, कर्णवध-अनुज्ञा

Krishna’s Counsel, Arjuna’s Apology, and Authorization for Karṇa’s Slaying

Devanagari script

ततो युद्धम भूद्‌ घोरं कर्णपाण्डवयोरमथे

Transliteration

tato yuddham abhūd ghoraṁ karṇa-pāṇḍavayor amathe

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then a dreadful battle arose between Karṇa and the Pāṇḍava, a clash that could not be restrained—an escalation of the Kurukṣetra war where personal rivalry and duty harden into uncompromising violence.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय

• युद्धम्: battle, fight
• युद्धम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: युद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• अभूत्: became, occurred
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लुङ् (अङ्गभूत-भूतकाल), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• घोरम्: terrible, dreadful
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• कर्णपाण्डवयोः: of/in (the case of) Karna and the Pandava
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्ण + पाण्डव (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी/सप्तमी, द्विवचन

• अमथे: in the churning/struggle, in the melee
• अमथे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मथ (धातु) → अमथ (प्रातिपदिक, भाव/क्रिया-नाम)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Karṇa
• Pāṇḍava(s)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how, in a dharma-war, duty and long-standing enmity can culminate in an ‘unrestrainable’ confrontation—highlighting the ethical tension between righteous obligation (kṣatriya-dharma) and the tragic momentum of violence once war is joined.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a fierce battle has erupted between Karṇa and a Pāṇḍava, signaling a decisive and escalating phase of combat in the Karṇa Parva.