Mahabharata 7.178.96 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 178, Shloka 96

Devanagari script

हत्वा सम्भक्षयिष्यामि सर्वैरनुचरै: सह । “श्रीकृष्ण जिनके अगुआ हैं, उन सभी कुन्तीपुत्रोंकोी मारकर आज मैं समस्त अनुचरोंके साथ उन्हें खा जाऊँगा

Transliteration

hatvā sambhakṣayiṣyāmi sarvair anucaraiḥ saha |

Translation

संजय म्हणाला—त्यांना मारून आज मी माझ्या सर्व अनुचरांसह त्यांना भक्ष करीन.

Word by Word

• हत्वा: having slain
• हत्वा: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपद-भाव, non-finite

• सम्भक्षयिष्यामि: I shall devour
• सम्भक्षयिष्यामि: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: भक्ष् (धातु) + सम् (उपसर्ग)
• Form: लृट् (simple future), परस्मैपद, 1, singular, कर्तरि

• सर्वैः: with all
• सर्वैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, instrumental, plural

• अनुचरैः: attendants, followers
• अनुचरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनुचर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, instrumental, plural

• सह: together with
• सह: Karana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह (अव्यय)
• Form: true

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• anucara (attendants/followers)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how unchecked anger in war can erode dharma: language that treats enemies as food signals moral disintegration and the loss of human regard, serving as a warning about the ethical costs of vengeance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a combatant’s ferocious vow: after killing the opponents, he intends to devour them along with his attendants—an extreme threat meant to convey terrifying wrath and brutality amid the battle.