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Shloka 1

कर्णवधार्थं धनञ्जयस्य प्रतिज्ञा — Arjuna’s resolve for Karṇa’s defeat

Devanagari script

/ अपन क्राा बा अर: त्रिपञज्चाशत्तमो<्ध्याय: अर्जुनद्वारा दस हजार संशप्तक योद्धाओं और उनकी सेनाका संहार संजय उवाच वर्तमाने तथा युद्धे क्षत्रियाणां निमज्जने । गाण्डीवस्य महाघोष: श्रूयते युधि मारिष,संजय कहते हैं--आर्य! जब क्षत्रियोंका संहार करनेवाला वह भयानक युद्ध चल रहा था, उसी समय दूसरी ओर बड़े जोर-जोरसे गाण्डीव धनुषकी टंकार सुनायी देती थी

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | vartamāne tathā yuddhe kṣatriyāṇāṁ nimajjane | gāṇḍīvasya mahāghoṣaḥ śrūyate yudhi māriṣa ||

Translation

サンジャヤは言った。「高貴なる方よ。クシャトリヤを滅びへと呑み込むあの恐るべき戦が荒れ狂うその時、戦場の別の一角から、ガーンディーヴァ（Gāṇḍīva）の弦の轟くような大音が聞こえてきた。」

Word by Word

संजयO Sañjaya

उवाचsaid

वर्तमानेwhile (it was) going on / in progress

तस्मिन्in that

युद्धेin the battle

क्षत्रियाणाम्of the Kshatriyas

निमज्जनेin the sinking/ruin (i.e., slaughter/overthrow)

गाण्डीवस्यof (the bow) Gāṇḍīva

महाघोषःthe great roar/sound

श्रूयतेis heard

युधिin battle

मारिषO venerable sir

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

kṣatriyas

Gāṇḍīva (Arjuna’s bow)

battlefield (yudhi)

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 frames war as an overwhelming ‘sinking’ of the warrior class, yet highlights disciplined prowess through the emblematic sound of Arjuna’s bow. It implicitly contrasts mass destruction with the focused agency of a dharma-bound fighter, reminding the listener that actions in war carry grave ethical weight even when performed as duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that as the fierce battle continues and kṣatriyas are being cut down in great numbers, a powerful sound is heard—the loud twang/roar of Gāṇḍīva—signaling Arjuna’s active presence and the intensity of his combat.