Shloka 17

कृष्णोपदेशः, अर्जुनस्य क्षमा-याचनम्, कर्णवध-अनुज्ञा

Krishna’s Counsel, Arjuna’s Apology, and Authorization for Karṇa’s Slaying

Devanagari script

हाहाकारस्ततस्तीव्र: सम्बभूव जनेश्वर

Transliteration

hāhākāras tatastīvraḥ sambabhūva janeśvara

Translation

Sañjaya nói: Bấy giờ một tiếng kêu than dữ dội bùng lên—một cơn náo động tràn ngập giữa muôn người, hỡi bậc chúa tể nhân gian—báo hiệu nỗi sợ, niềm tang tóc và cú chấn động đạo lý trước điều vừa xảy ra trên chiến địa.

Word by Word

• हाहाकारः: a cry of lamentation; uproar
• हाहाकारः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: हाहाकार
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ततः: then; thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• तीव्रः: intense; fierce
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीव्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सम्बभूव: arose; came to be
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular

• जन-ईश्वर: O lord of men (king)
• Type: Noun
• Root: जन + ईश्वर
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by address janeśvara)
• the people/armies (jana)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the immediate human cost of war: beyond strategy and heroism, violence produces collective anguish and moral disquiet, expressed as a communal cry of distress.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, after a significant and frightening turn in the battle, an intense uproar of lamentation breaks out among the assembled people/warriors.