Shloka 36

कर्णस्य दानप्रतिज्ञा–शल्योपदेश–वाक्ययुद्धम्

Karna’s Gift-Vows, Shalya’s Counsel, and the Battle of Words

Devanagari script

योधा योधान्‌ समासाद्य मुष्टिभिव्यहनन्‌ युधि

Transliteration

yodhā yodhān samāsādya muṣṭibhivyahanan yudhi

Translation

นักรบเข้าประชิดนักรบฝ่ายตรงข้าม แล้วในท่ามกลางศึกก็ซัดพวกเขาด้วยกำปั้นเปล่า

Word by Word

• योधाः: warriors (fighters)
• योधाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: योध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• योधान्: warriors
• योधान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: योध
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• समासाद्य: having approached
• समासाद्य: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-√सद्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage), having approached/come up to

• मुष्टिभिः: with fists
• मुष्टिभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुष्टि
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Plural

• व्यहनन्: they struck/beat
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-√हन्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• युधि: in battle
• युधि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: युध्
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• warriors (yodhāḥ/yodhān)
• fists (muṣṭi)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how warfare can strip conflict down to sheer physical force: even a warrior’s valor, when pressed to extremes, may manifest as unarmed brutality—inviting reflection on the ethical cost of battle despite the rhetoric of duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a combatant who rushes up to enemy warriors and strikes them with his fists amid the fighting, suggesting close-quarters chaos where conventional weapons are absent, broken, or set aside.