Shloka 43

Devanagari script

तेषां समागमो घोरो बभूव युधि संगत: । अन्योन्यस्य वधार्थाय जिगीषूणां महाहवे

Transliteration

teṣāṃ samāgamo ghoro babhūva yudhi saṃgataḥ | anyonyasya vadhārthāya jigīṣūṇāṃ mahāhave ||

Translation

Sañjaya nói: Cuộc giáp mặt của họ trên chiến địa trở nên ghê rợn. Trong đại chiến ấy, khi hai bên áp sát để giao tranh, mỗi phía đều quyết giết đối phương, bị thúc đẩy bởi ý chí giành thắng lợi.

Word by Word

• तेषाम्: of them
• तेषाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• समागमः: meeting, encounter
• समागमः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: समागम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• घोरः: terrible, dreadful
• घोरः: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• बभूव: became, occurred
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular

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

• संगतः: joined, engaged (in close combat)
• संगतः: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संगत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अन्योन्यस्य: of one another
• अन्योन्यस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun/Adjective
• Root: अन्योन्य
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• वधार्थाय: for the purpose of killing
• वधार्थाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वधार्थ
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• जिगीषूणाम्: of those desiring to conquer
• जिगीषूणाम्: Sambandha
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जिगीषु
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• महाहवे: in the great battle
• महाहवे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाहव
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical tension of war: when victory becomes the overriding aim, combat turns ghora—dreadful—because mutual destruction is embraced as a means to conquest, underscoring the grave cost of martial ambition even within a dharma-framed battlefield.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the moment when the opposing forces close ranks and fully engage; their meeting becomes fierce as both sides, eager to win, fight with the intent to kill one another in the great Kurukṣetra war.