Shloka 37

Devanagari script

तथा चरन्तं समरे तपन्तमिव भास्करम्‌ | पदातिकोटिसाहस्रा: प्रवरायुधपाणय:

Transliteration

tathā carantaṃ samare tapantam iva bhāskaram | padātikoṭisāhasrāḥ pravarāyudhapāṇayaḥ

Translation

ಸಮರದಲ್ಲಿ ಸಂಚರಿಸುತ್ತ, ಸೂರ್ಯನಂತೆ ದಹಿಸುವ ಆ ವೀರನನ್ನು ಶ್ರೇಷ್ಠ ಆಯುಧಗಳನ್ನು ಹಿಡಿದ ಪಾದಾತಿಗಳ ಕೋಟಿ-ಸಹಸ್ರಗಳು ಸುತ್ತುವರಿದವು.

Word by Word

• तथा: thus, in that manner
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• चरन्तम्: moving about, ranging
• चरन्तम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: चर्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular, शतृ (present active participle)

• समरे: in battle
• समरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समर
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• तपन्तम्: burning, scorching
• तपन्तम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: तप्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular, शतृ (present active participle)

• इव: like, as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• भास्करम्: the sun
• भास्करम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भास्कर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• पदाति-कोटि-साहस्राः: thousands (in crores) of foot-soldiers
• पदाति-कोटि-साहस्राः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पदाति + कोटि + साहस्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• प्रवर-आयुध-पाणयः: having excellent weapons in their hands
• प्रवर-आयुध-पाणयः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रवर + आयुध + पाणि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• bhāskara (the Sun)
• padātayaḥ (infantry/foot-soldiers)
• pravarāyudhāni (excellent weapons)
• samara (battlefield)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how martial excellence and intense energy in war can draw vast forces around a single radiant fighter; ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between kṣatriya duty (valor in battle) and the destructive scale of warfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a warrior moving through the battlefield with sun-like brilliance, while innumerable infantry—armed with superior weapons—press around him, conveying the density and ferocity of the ongoing combat.