Shloka 34

Adhyāya 112: Bhīṣma-prati Arjunasya Pravṛttiḥ

Arjuna’s Forward Drive Toward Bhīṣma

Devanagari script

हत्वा दश सहस्राणि कुठ्जराणां तरस्विनाम्‌ | सारोहाणां महाराज हयानां चायुतं तथा

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | hatvā daśa sahasrāṇi kuñjarāṇāṃ tarasvinām | sārohāṇāṃ mahārāja hayānāṃ cāyutaṃ tathā ||

Translation

ਮਹਾਰਾਜ! ਭੀਸ਼ਮ ਨੇ ਸਵਾਰਾਂ ਸਮੇਤ ਦਸ ਹਜ਼ਾਰ ਤੇਜ਼ ਹਾਥੀਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਮਾਰ ਦਿੱਤਾ ਅਤੇ ਇਸੇ ਤਰ੍ਹਾਂ ਦਸ ਹਜ਼ਾਰ ਘੋੜਿਆਂ ਨੂੰ ਵੀ।

Word by Word

• हत्वा: having slain
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund)

• दश: ten
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसक, प्रथमा/द्वितीया, बहुवचन (अव्ययवत् संख्या-विशेषण)

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसक, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• कुञ्जराणाम्: of elephants
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुञ्जर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• तरस्विनाम्: of swift/impetuous (ones)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तरस्विन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• सारोहाणाम्: of riders (mounted men)
• Type: Noun
• Root: सारोह (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

• हयानाम्: of horses
• Type: Noun
• Root: हय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च
• Form: निपात

• अयुतम्: a ten-thousand (ayuta)
• अयुतम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अयुत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसक, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• तथा: likewise/so also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा
• Form: क्रियाविशेषण

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• elephants (kuñjara)
• horses (haya)
• riders (sāroha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s tension between kṣatriya-duty and the moral cost of war: martial excellence is praised as dharma in battle, yet the scale of killing evokes the destructive, consuming nature of conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra the battlefield carnage: vast numbers of elephants with riders and horses are slain, highlighting the intensity of the fighting and the overwhelming force of the leading warrior’s assault.