Shloka 18

Devanagari script

तांश्व संचोदयन्‌ सर्वान्‌ घ्नतैनमिति भारत

Transliteration

tāñ śva sañcodayan sarvān ghnatainam iti bhārata

Translation

तान् सर्वान् सञ्चोदयन्—घ्नत एनम् इति—भारत।

Word by Word

• तान्: them
• तान्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• संचोदयन्: urging/instigating
• संचोदयन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-चुद्
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सर्वान्: all
• सर्वान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• घ्नत: kill (you all)! / strike!
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: लोट् (imperative), परस्मैपदम्, Second, Plural

• एनम्: this one/him
• एनम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• इति: thus/so (quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

• भारत: O Bharata (descendant of Bharata)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra as addressee)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how, in war, speech becomes an instrument of action: urging others to violence can shift responsibility and intensify adharma-like impulses, even when framed as battlefield necessity. It invites reflection on accountability for incitement and the ethical weight of commands.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a leader (implied by context) is rallying all the fighters, exhorting them with the command “Kill him!” The line functions as a brief, urgent battlefield cue within the larger Drona-parvan combat narration addressed to Dhṛtarāṣṭra.