Shloka 25

Devanagari script

ततो दशसहस््राणि गजानां भीमकर्मणाम्‌

Transliteration

tato daśasahasrāṇi gajānāṃ bhīmakarmaṇām |

Translation

Disse Sañjaya: Então Bhīmasena, com os golpes esmagadores de sua maça, destruiu dez mil elefantes de terrível poder, que o cercavam por todos os lados. Depois, com força irresistível, despedaçou muitos outros elefantes e centenas de carros—imagem de um poder marcial avassalador em meio a um campo de batalha implacável, onde bravura e destruição caminham juntas.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: avyaya

• दश: ten
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दश (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: indeclinable numeral used in compound

• सहस्राणि: thousands
• सहस्राणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: neuter, nominative/accusative, plural

• गजानाम्: of elephants
• गजानाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, genitive, plural

• भीमकर्मणाम्: of dreadful deeds / of terrible action
• भीमकर्मणाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भीमकर्मन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: masculine, genitive, plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhīmasena (Bhīma)
• elephants (gaja)
• mace (gadā)
• chariots (ratha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s war-ethic tension: kṣatriya valor and duty manifest as extraordinary martial force, yet the narrative simultaneously highlights the immense scale of destruction that accompanies such prowess.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports Bhīma’s battlefield feat: surrounded on all sides, Bhīma smashes a vast elephant contingent with his mace, and then continues to destroy additional elephants and hundreds of chariots.