Shloka 22

Karṇa-vadha-pratyaya: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Verification of Karṇa’s Fall (कर्णवध-प्रत्ययः)

Devanagari script

विवस्त्रायुधदेहासून्‌ कृत्वा शत्रूनू सहस्रश:

Transliteration

vivastrāyudhadehāsūn kṛtvā śatrūnū sahasraśaḥ

Translation

サンジャヤは言った。「彼は敵を幾千と、まったくの無力へと追い落とした――衣を奪い、武器を奪い、身を砕き、ついには命さえ奪って。戦の苛烈な奔流がそこにあらわとなった。」

Word by Word

• विवस्त्र: naked, without garments
• विवस्त्र: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विवस्त्र
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• आयुध: weapons
• आयुध: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आयुध
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• देह: bodies
• देह: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: देह
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• असून्: lives, vital breaths
• असून्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: असु
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• कृत्वा: having made; having rendered
• कृत्वा: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral in gerund), Invariable

• शत्रून्: enemies
• शत्रून्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत्रु
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• सहस्रशः: by thousands; in thousands
• सहस्रशः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहस्रशस्
• Form: true

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• शत्रु (enemies)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the grim ethical reality of war: martial success often manifests as the total disempowerment and destruction of opponents, forcing reflection on the human cost that accompanies kṣatriya valor and battlefield duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that the warrior’s onslaught was so overwhelming that enemies fell in vast numbers, rendered defenseless—deprived of clothing and weapons—and ultimately slain.