Shloka 14

शकुनिवधः — Sahadeva’s Slaying of Śakuni

with Ulūka’s fall

Devanagari script

हतो भीष्मो हतो द्रोण: कर्णो वैकर्तनो हतः

Transliteration

hato bhīṣmo hato droṇaḥ karṇo vaikartano hataḥ

Translation

సంజయుడు పలికెను—“భీష్ముడు హతుడయ్యెను; ద్రోణుడు హతుడయ్యెను; వైకర్తన కర్ణుడును హతుడయ్యెను।”

Word by Word

• हतः: slain
• हतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हन् (धातु) → हत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• भीष्मः: Bhishma
• भीष्मः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीष्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• हतः: slain
• हतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हन् (धातु) → हत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• द्रोणः: Drona
• द्रोणः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रोण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• कर्णः: Karna
• कर्णः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वैकर्तनः: Vaikartana (son of the cutter; epithet of Karna)
• वैकर्तनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वैकर्तन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• हतः: slain
• हतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हन् (धातु) → हत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Bhishma
• Drona
• Karna (Vaikartana)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even the greatest warriors and revered elders are not beyond the reach of time and consequence; when a cause is sustained by adharma, its pillars eventually fall. The verse underscores the ethical gravity of war: victory and defeat are inseparable from moral choices and their long unfolding results.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya delivers a grim report of the battlefield to the blind king: Bhishma, Drona, and Karna—three decisive supports of the Kaurava army—have been killed. Their deaths mark a turning point, leaving the Kauravas strategically and morally unmoored.