Shloka 112

Sauptika Parva, Adhyaya 8 — Dhṛṣṭadyumna-vadha and the Camp’s Nocturnal Rout

Devanagari script

कांश्चिद्‌ योधान्‌ स खड्गेन मध्ये संछिद्य वीर्यवान्‌

Transliteration

kāṁścid yodhān sa khaḍgena madhye saṁchidya vīryavān

Translation

Sañjaya said: The mighty warrior, cutting down some of the fighters with his sword in the midst of the fray, continued his ruthless work—an image of night-battle violence where valor is severed from restraint and the ethical order of war is eclipsed by slaughter.

Word by Word

• कान्: some (whom)
• कान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क (किम्-प्रातिपदिकस्य विशेषणरूपः)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• चित्: indeed/ever; (with क-) gives 'some'
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: चित्

• योधान्: warriors
• योधान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: योध
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• खड्गेन: with a sword
• खड्गेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: खड्ग
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• मध्ये: in the middle
• मध्ये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मध्य
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• संछिद्य: having cut asunder
• Type: Verb
• Root: छिद्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), सम्, Parasmaipada (usage)

• वीर्यवान्: powerful/valiant
• वीर्यवान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वीर्यवत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• warriors (yodhāḥ)
• sword (khaḍga)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how sheer martial prowess (vīrya) can become ethically unmoored in a night-raid context: valor alone is not dharma, and violence without restraint signals the collapse of righteous warfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that the warrior is in the thick of the fighting and is cutting down some combatants with his sword, conveying rapid, close-quarters killing amid the chaos of the Sauptika night episode.