Shloka 18

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

Devanagari script

निहतानाहवे पश्य पदात्यश्चवरथद्विपान्‌

Transliteration

nihatān āhave paśya padātyāś ca vara-ratha-dvipān

Translation

Sañjaya said: “Behold—slain in the thick of battle—foot-soldiers as well as the finest chariot-warriors and elephants.” The line underscores the indiscriminate devastation of war, where rank and strength offer no refuge from death.

Word by Word

• निहतान्: slain
• निहतान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निहत (नि+हन्)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• आहवे: in battle
• आहवे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आहव
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• पश्य: see / behold
• पश्य: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: पश्
• Form: Imperative, Second, Singular

• पदातीन्: foot-soldiers
• पदातीन्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पदाति
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

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

• वरथद्विपान्: horses, chariots, and elephants
• वरथद्विपान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वरथद्विप
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• infantry (padāti)
• chariot-warriors (ratha)
• war-elephants (dvipa)
• battlefield (āhava)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the impartial destructiveness of war: death overtakes all—infantry, elite chariot-fighters, and even mighty elephants—inviting reflection on the ethical cost of conflict and the fragility of worldly power.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, reporting events from the battlefield, points out to the listener that many combatants—foot-soldiers, prominent chariot-warriors, and elephants—have been slain amid the fighting.