Shloka 23
कर्णपर्व — चतुर्दशोऽध्यायः
Arjuna’s Suppression of the Saṃśaptakas; Kṛṣṇa’s Strategic Admonition; Battlefield Inventory
Devanagari script
ततो घोरं महाराज अस्त्रयुद्धमवर्तत
Transliteration
tato ghoraṁ mahārāja astrayuddham avartata
Translation
त्यानंतर, महाराज, तेथे घोर अस्त्रयुद्ध सुरू झाले.
Word by Word
ततःthen, thereafter
ततः:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootतद्
FormAvyaya (ablatival adverb: 'from that/thereafter')
घोरम्terrible, dreadful
घोरम्:
TypeAdjective
Rootघोर
FormNeuter, nominative, singular (used predicatively with the subject)
महाराजO great king
महाराज:
TypeNoun
Rootमहाराज
FormMasculine, vocative, singular
अस्त्रयुद्धम्missile-weapon battle
अस्त्रयुद्धम्:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootअस्त्रयुद्ध
FormNeuter, nominative, singular
अवर्ततarose, took place, occurred
अवर्तत:
TypeVerb
Rootवृत्
FormImperfect (लङ्), 3rd person, singular, Parasmaipada
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Characters & Entities
S
SañjayaM
Mahārāja (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)A
astrayuddha (battle of missile-weapons)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
The verse underscores how quickly conflict can intensify into destructive warfare, reminding the listener that choices made in rivalry and ambition culminate in unavoidable moral and karmic consequences once violence is unleashed.
Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the fighting has escalated into a fierce exchange of astras—missile-weapons—marking a heightened, more perilous phase of the battle.