Shloka 4

Devanagari script

संजय उवाच शृणु राजन्‌ स्थिरो भूत्वा युद्धमेतत्‌ सुदारुणम्‌ । न शक्‍्या: पाण्डवा जेतुं देवेरपि सवासवै:,संजयने कहा--राजन्‌! पाण्डवोंको तो इन्द्रसहित सम्पूर्ण देवता भी नहीं जीत सकते। अब आप इस अत्यन्त भयंकर युद्धका वृत्तान्त स्थिर होकर सुनिये

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca śṛṇu rājan sthiro bhūtvā yuddham etat sudāruṇam | na śakyāḥ pāṇḍavā jetuṃ devair api savāsavaiḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya thưa: “Tâu Đại vương, xin hãy giữ tâm vững vàng mà nghe chuyện trận chiến vô cùng khốc liệt này. Các Pāṇḍava không thể bị khuất phục—dẫu là chư thiên, dù có Indra đứng đầu.”

Word by Word

संजयःSanjaya

उवाचsaid

शृणुhear, listen

राजन्O king

स्थिरःsteady, composed

भूत्वाhaving become

युद्धम्battle, war

एतत्this

सुदारुणम्very dreadful, extremely fierce

नnot

शक्याःpossible (to be done); able (to be)

पाण्डवाःthe Pandavas

जेतुम्to conquer, to defeat

देवैःby the gods

अपिeven, also

सवासवैःtogether with Indra (Vasava)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

King Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Pāṇḍavas

Devas (gods)

Vāsava (Indra)

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 underscores the inevitability of the Pāṇḍavas’ victory and urges the king to maintain composure while hearing harsh truths—suggesting that ethical and cosmic alignment (dharma) makes certain outcomes resistant even to divine opposition.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya begins reporting the battle to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, asking him to listen calmly to the terrifying events, and he emphasizes the formidable, unconquerable nature of the Pāṇḍavas—even in a hypothetical contest against the gods led by Indra.