Shloka 32

Devanagari script

रथस्थ: स तया विद्धो वर्म भित्त्वा स्तनान्तरे | भृशं संविग्नहददय: पपात च मुमोह च

Transliteration

rathasthaḥ sa tayā viddho varma bhittvā stanāntare | bhṛśaṃ saṃvignahṛdayaḥ papāta ca mumoh ca ||

Translation

サンジャヤは言った。戦車の上に立つその武者は、その武器に撃たれ、鎧を貫かれて胸の間に突き立てられた。激しい苦悶に心は揺さぶられ、彼は倒れて気を失った。

Word by Word

रथस्थःstanding in the chariot

सःhe

तयाby her / by that (female agent)

विद्धःpierced, struck

वर्मarmor

भित्त्वाhaving split / having pierced through

स्तनान्तरेin the space between the breasts (in the chest)

भृशम्exceedingly, greatly

संविग्नहृदयःwhose heart was greatly agitated

पपातfell

चand

मुमोहbecame deluded / fainted

चand

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

chariot (ratha)

armor (varma)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the vulnerability of embodied life in war: external protections like armor and status cannot guarantee safety. It implicitly points to the ethical gravity of battle—actions have immediate, irreversible consequences, and even the mighty can be overcome when skill, circumstance, and destiny align.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a warrior, standing on his chariot, is struck by a blow associated with a female agent (“tayā”). The weapon pierces through his armor and hits his chest; overwhelmed and shaken, he falls and loses consciousness.