Shloka 31

Devanagari script

हन्याद्‌ रथसहस्राणि एकैकेनैव मुष्टिना

Transliteration

hanyād rathasahasrāṇi ekaikenaiva muṣṭinā

Translation

हन्याद् रथसहस्राणि एकैकेनैव मुष्टिना ॥

Word by Word

• हन्यात्: would/should kill, would strike down
• हन्यात्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु)
• Form: Vidhi-linga, Potential/Optative, 3, Singular, Parasmaipada

• रथसहस्राणि: thousands of chariots
• रथसहस्राणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ + सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• एकैकेन: with each single (one), one by one
• एकैकेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एकैक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• एव: indeed, just, only
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• मुष्टिना: with (his) fist
• मुष्टिना: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• chariots
• fist

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes the terrifying scale of martial power in the Kurukṣetra war: extraordinary strength can annihilate vast forces, which in turn magnifies the ethical burden of warfare and the urgency of discerning dharma amid destruction.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describes a warrior’s overwhelming capability in battle—so great that, figuratively, he could destroy thousands of chariots with only a single blow of his fist—thereby conveying the intensity and imbalance of force on the field.