Shloka 12

Devanagari script

को हि शक्तो रणे पार्थ भारतानां महारथौ । भीष्पद्रोणौ युधा जेतुं शक्रतुल्यपराक्रमौ

Transliteration

ko hi śakto raṇe pārtha bhāratānāṃ mahārathau | bhīṣma-droṇau yudhā jetuṃ śakra-tulya-parākramau ||

Translation

Sañjaya nói: “Hỡi Pārtha, giữa các Bhārata, ai có thể trong chiến trận mà đủ sức đánh bại, trong giao đấu, hai đại xa chiến ấy—Bhīṣma và Droṇa—những người có dũng lực sánh ngang Indra?”

Word by Word

• कः: who
• कः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: क (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• हि: indeed/for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• शक्तः: able/capable
• शक्तः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शक्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √शक्)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• रणे: in battle
• रणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• पार्थ: O Partha (Arjuna)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• भारताणाम्: of the Bharatas
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• महारथौ: the two great chariot-warriors
• महारथौ: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: महारथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Dual

• भीष्म: Bhishma
• भीष्म: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीष्म (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• द्रोणौ: and Drona (the two: Bhishma and Drona)
• द्रोणौ: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रोण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Dual

• युधा: by fighting/in battle
• युधा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: युध् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• जेतुम्: to conquer
• Type: Verb
• Root: √जि (धातु)
• Form: Infinitive (Tumun)

• शक्र-तुल्य-पराक्रमौ: having valor equal to Indra
• शक्र-तुल्य-पराक्रमौ: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शक्र (प्रातिपदिक) + तुल्य (प्रातिपदिक) + पराक्रम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Dual

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Pārtha (Arjuna)
• Bhāratas
• Bhīṣma
• Droṇa
• Śakra (Indra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores human limitation before extraordinary merit: some warriors embody such accumulated skill, discipline, and divine-like valor that victory over them is not merely a matter of desire but of capability, circumstance, and destiny. It also frames martial excellence as something that commands respect even amid enmity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya addresses Arjuna (Pārtha) and rhetorically asks who could defeat Bhīṣma and Droṇa in open battle, emphasizing their near-unconquerable status. The statement functions as a reminder of the formidable strength of the Kuru champions and heightens the gravity of the war’s unfolding events.