Shloka 7

कृष्णेन अर्जुनस्य प्रोत्साहनम् — Kṛṣṇa’s Exhortation to Arjuna

Prelude to Karṇa’s Slaying

Devanagari script

वध्यतां तत्र शूराणां क्रोशतां च परस्परम्‌

Transliteration

vadhyatāṃ tatra śūrāṇāṃ krośatāṃ ca parasparam

Translation

वध्यतां तत्र शूराणां क्रोशतां च परस्परम्॥

Word by Word

• वध्यताम्: let (them) be slain / let (them) be killed
• Type: Verb
• Root: वध्
• Form: लोट् (imperative), आत्मनेपद, 3rd, plural, कर्मणि (passive)

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र

• शूराणाम्: of the heroes/warriors
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूर
• Form: masculine, genitive, plural

• क्रोशताम्: of (those) crying out
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्रुश्
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), masculine, genitive, plural

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

• परस्परम्: mutually / at one another
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: परस्पर

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• warriors (śūrāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the grim reciprocity of war: even the brave become victims amid mutual aggression, and human voices—cries and calls—are swallowed by violence. It implicitly warns how conflict erodes dignity and compassion, turning heroic identity into shared suffering.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the immediate battlefield scene: warriors are being killed, and amid the chaos they shout and call to one another—suggesting confusion, appeals, challenges, or cries of pain as the fighting becomes mutually destructive.