Shloka 43

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

Devanagari script

हन्यमानमपशथ्यंश्न निश्चेष्टं सम पराक्रमे | अयुतं तत्र योधानां हत्वा पाण्डुसुतो रणे

Transliteration

hanyamānam apaśyann niśceṣṭaṃ sama-parākrame | ayutaṃ tatra yodhānāṃ hatvā pāṇḍu-suto raṇe ||

Translation

サञ्जयは言った。「彼が打ち倒され—武勇は等しいのに身動きもできずにいるのを見て—パーンドゥの子はその戦場で、そこで一万の戦士を討ち取った。」

Word by Word

हन्यमानम्being struck / being slain

अपश्यत्saw

अंश्नindeed / as it were (particle; sense uncertain in this context)

निश्चेष्टम्motionless, inert

समपराक्रमेin equal prowess / in matched valor

अयुतम्ten thousand

तत्रthere

योधानाम्of warriors

हत्वाhaving slain

पाण्डुसुतःthe son of Pandu (Arjuna/Yudhishthira etc.)

रणेin battle

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Pāṇḍu-suta (a Pāṇḍava, likely Arjuna)

yodhāḥ (warriors)

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 highlights the moral gravity of battlefield success: when a powerful opponent is incapacitated, the balance of war collapses and large-scale killing can follow. It invites reflection on kṣatriya-dharma—duty in war—while also exposing the tragic cost and ethical burden of victory measured in bodies.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that the Pāṇḍu-born hero, seeing an equal-in-valor fighter rendered motionless while being struck, went on to kill ten thousand warriors in that battle. It is a compressed battlefield report emphasizing a sudden surge of destruction.