Shloka 29

Devanagari script

एतदत्यद्धभुतं कर्म दृष्टवानस्मि भारत

Transliteration

etad atyadbhutaṁ karma dṛṣṭavān asmi bhārata

Translation

एतदत्यद्भुतं कर्म दृष्टवानस्मि भारत ॥

Word by Word

• एतत्: this
• एतत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अति: exceedingly/very
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अति

• अद्भुतम्: wonderful, marvelous
• अद्भुतम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अद्भुत
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• कर्म: deed, act
• कर्म: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्मन्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• दृष्टवान्: having seen / saw
• दृष्टवान्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: क्तवतुँ (क्तवतु), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अस्मि: I am
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: Present (Lat), 1st, Singular

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

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line highlights the epic’s moral lens on action: a ‘karma’ is not merely an event but a deed with weight and consequence, and Sañjaya frames what he reports as extraordinary—inviting the listener to reflect on the power, cost, and ethical significance of actions witnessed in war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating the battlefield events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, pauses to emphasize that he has personally ‘seen’ an exceptionally marvelous deed. The verse functions as a dramatic marker, heightening attention to the remarkable action just described or about to be described in the surrounding verses.