Shloka 7

Devanagari script

भग्नश्‌ड्जा वृषा यद्वद्‌ भग्नदंष्टा इवोरगा: । प्रत्यपायाम सायाह्ले निर्जिता: सव्यसचिना,हम सब लोग सायंकालमें सव्यसाची अर्जुनसे परास्त होकर शिबिरकी ओर लौटे थे। उस समय हमारी दशा उन बैलोंके समान हो रही थी, जिनके सींग तोड़ दिये गये हों। हम उन सर्पोके समान हो गये थे, जिनके विषैले दाँत नष्ट कर दिये गये हों

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | bhagnāśṛṅgā vṛṣā yadvad bhagnadaṃṣṭrā ivoragāḥ | pratyapāyāma sāyāhle nirjitāḥ savyasācinā ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Defeated by Savyasācin (Arjuna), we withdrew toward the camp at evening. Our condition was like that of bulls whose horns have been broken, and like serpents whose fangs have been shattered—alive, yet stripped of the power to strike. The verse underscores how defeat in war is not merely physical loss but the collapse of confidence and capacity, revealing the moral weight of prowess and the humiliation that follows unrighteous aggression when checked by a superior warrior.

Word by Word

• {'sañjaya uvāca': 'Sañjaya said', 'bhagnā-śṛṅgāḥ': 'with broken horns', 'vṛṣāḥ': 'bulls', 'yadvat': 'just as', 'bhagna-daṃṣṭrāḥ': 'with broken fangs', 'iva': 'like', 'uragāḥ': 'serpents', 'pratyapāyāma': 'we retreated/withdrew', 'sāyāhle': 'in the late afternoon/evening', 'nirjitāḥ': 'defeated, overcome', 'savyasācinā': 'by Savyasācin (Arjuna, the ambidextrous archer)', 'śibiram': 'camp (implied by the Hindi gloss

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Savyasācin (Arjuna)
• Kaurava army (implied by 'we')
• camp (śibira, implied)
• bulls
• serpents

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches that defeat can render even a large force ineffective—like bulls without horns or snakes without fangs—highlighting how power in war depends on both capability and morale, and how arrogance collapses when checked by superior skill.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava side, having been defeated by Arjuna (Savyasācin), retreated toward their camp at evening, feeling helpless and disarmed in spirit, compared to hornless bulls and fangless serpents.