Shloka 8

Devanagari script

तदायस्तमनुष्याश्वमुदीर्णवरवारणम्‌ । पुत्राणां ते महासैन्यं समरौत्सीद्‌ धनंजयम्‌

Transliteration

tadāyastamanuṣyāśvam udīrṇavaravāraṇam | putrāṇāṁ te mahāsainyaṁ samarautsīd dhanaṁjayam ||

Translation

Wika ni Sañjaya: Noon, O Hari, ang napakalaking hukbo ng iyong mga anak—bagaman pagod na ang mga tao at kabayo, at ang pinakamahuhusay na elepante’y naguluhan—ay sumiksik sa gitna ng labanan at lumapit kay Dhanañjaya (Arjuna).

Word by Word

तदाthen

आयस्तम्made of iron / iron-clad

मनुष्याश्वम्a man-horse (horse with a rider; cavalryman)

उदीर्णवरवारणम्with excellent elephants roused/charging

पुत्राणाम्of the sons

तेof you/your

महा-सैन्यम्the great army

समरेin battle

उत्सीत्attacked / assailed

धनंजयम्Dhanañjaya (Arjuna)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'te')

Dhanañjaya (Arjuna)

Kaurava army (sons of Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

horses

elephants

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the relentless momentum of war: even an exhausted force can surge forward through massed effort. Ethically, it points to how collective determination, when yoked to adharma-driven rivalry, intensifies suffering rather than restoring order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava host—despite fatigue among men and horses and turmoil among their best elephants—nevertheless pressed in and attacked Dhanañjaya (Arjuna) in the thick of battle.