Shloka 57

Devanagari script

एवमेतन्महाराज नरवाजिरथद्विपान्‌

Transliteration

evam etan mahārāja nara-vāji-ratha-dvipān tathā sa somakān hatvā tasthāv eko mahārathaḥ |

Translation

Sañjaya nói: “Đúng là như vậy, tâu Đại vương. Sau khi giết sạch bộ binh, kỵ binh, xa binh và tượng binh của địch—lại còn tiêu diệt cả quân Somaka—Karna, bậc đại chiến xa, đứng vững một mình. Như Thời Gian (Kāla) đứng lại sau khi muôn loài bị hủy diệt, Karna hùng mạnh vẫn không lay chuyển trên chiến địa, đã gieo tai ương xuống đầu Somaka.”

Word by Word

• एवम्: thus, in this manner
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एवम्

• एतत्: this (is)
• एतत्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: neuter, nominative, singular

• महा-राज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

• नर-वाजि-रथ-द्विपान्: foot-soldiers, horses, chariots, and elephants
• नर-वाजि-रथ-द्विपान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर/वाजिन्/रथ/द्विप
• Form: masculine, accusative, plural

• तथा: and likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• सोमकान्: the Somakas
• सोमकान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सोमक
• Form: masculine, accusative, plural

• हत्वा: having slain
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), active

• तस्थौ: stood, remained
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था
• Form: perfect, 3, singular, parasmaipada

• एकः: alone
• एकः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• महा-रथः: a great chariot-warrior
• महा-रथः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महारथ
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (Mahārāja)
• Karna
• Somakas
• infantry (nara)
• cavalry (vāji)
• chariots (ratha)
• elephants (dvipa)
• Kāla (Time/Death, as simile)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the epic’s vision of battlefield power as morally weighty and ultimately governed by Kāla (Time/Death): even the greatest hero’s triumph is framed as a manifestation of inexorable fate, reminding the listener that martial glory and mass destruction are inseparable in war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Karna has slaughtered multiple divisions—infantry, cavalry, chariots, and elephants—and has also devastated the Somaka forces; after this, Karna stands alone, steady and unshaken, compared to Kāla after universal destruction.