Shloka 12

अर्जुनस्य गुरुधर्मविलापः तथा शैनेयकर्णयोर्युद्धारम्भः | Arjuna’s Lament on Guru-Dharma and the Opening of the Sātyaki–Karṇa Duel

Devanagari script

अथ शब्दो महानासीत्‌ तव सैन्यस्य मारिष

Transliteration

atha śabdo mahān āsīt tava sainyasya māriṣa

Translation

सञ्जय उवाच—अथ शब्दो महानासीत्तव सैन्यस्य मारिष॥

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• शब्दः: sound, noise
• शब्दः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शब्द
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महान्: great, loud
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• आसीत्: was
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), 3rd, Singular

• तव: of you, your
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

• सैन्यस्य: of the army
• Type: Noun
• Root: सैन्य
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• मारिष: O venerable one / sir
• Type: Noun
• Root: मारिष
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Kaurava army (tava sainya)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how collective emotion in war—fear, zeal, anger, or triumph—manifests as a single overwhelming ‘sound’ of an army. Ethically, it points to the contagious nature of mass violence: individual discernment can be submerged under the momentum of the host.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a loud tumult arose from the Kaurava forces. It signals a decisive moment or escalation on the battlefield, preparing the listener for the next action or reversal in the combat.