Shloka 39

कर्णस्य दानप्रतिज्ञा–शल्योपदेश–वाक्ययुद्धम्

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

Devanagari script

मुष्टियुद्धं महच्चासीद्‌ योधानां तत्र भारत

Transliteration

muṣṭiyuddhaṁ mahaccāsīd yodhānāṁ tatra bhārata

Translation

Sañjaya nói: Hỡi Bhārata, tại đó đã diễn ra một cuộc giao đấu quyền cước lớn lao giữa các chiến sĩ.

Word by Word

• मुष्टि-युद्धम्: fist-fight, boxing combat
• मुष्टि-युद्धम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुष्टियुद्ध
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• महत्: great
• महत्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• आसीत्: was, occurred
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), 3rd, Singular

• योधानाम्: of the warriors
• Type: Noun
• Root: योध
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र

• भारत: O Bharata (descendant of Bharata)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the brutal escalation of warfare: when order and restraint collapse, combat can devolve into direct bodily violence. It implicitly warns that adharma in conflict erodes boundaries, turning battle into sheer force rather than principled kṣatriya conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, at that point in the battle, the warriors engaged in a major fist-fight—close-quarters fighting occurring amid the larger war scene.