Shloka 11
भीमसेनस्य बहुमहारथसंयुगः
Bhīmasena’s Engagement with Multiple Mahārathas
Devanagari script
रथाग्न्यगारक्षापार्चिरसिशक्तिगदेन्धन:
Transliteration
rathāgnyagārakṣāpārcirasiśaktigadendhanaḥ
Translation
三阇耶将战场描绘成一场炽烈的大火：战车为其火焰，甲胄为其火室，火光为其辉耀，刀剑与长矛为其火舌，钉头槌为其薪柴——由此显出战争的道德惊骇与吞噬本性，它同样吞尽生命与德行。
Word by Word
रथchariot
रथ:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootरथ
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
अग्निfire
अग्नि:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootअग्नि
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
अगारhouse, building
अगार:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootअगार
FormNeuter, Nominative, Singular
क्षापnight
क्षाप:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootक्षाप
FormFeminine, Nominative, Singular
अर्चिस्flame, radiance
अर्चिस्:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootअर्चिस्
FormNeuter, Nominative, Singular
असिsword
असि:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootअसि
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
शक्तिspear, lance
शक्ति:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootशक्ति
FormFeminine, Nominative, Singular
गदाmace
गदा:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootगदा
FormFeminine, Nominative, Singular
इन्धनःfuel
इन्धनः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootइन्धन
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Characters & Entities
R
ratha (chariot)A
agni (fire)R
rakṣā (armor/defense)A
asi (sword)Ś
śakti (spear)G
gadā (mace)Character Dynamics
Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)
War Context
Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)
Philosophical Teaching
Political Layer
Geographic Context
Sandhi Notes
Educational Q&A
The verse uses an extended metaphor of fire to show how war becomes a self-feeding force: weapons and defenses turn into the very elements that sustain destruction, warning that violence rapidly escalates and consumes what it touches, even when framed as duty.
Sañjaya, narrating to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, depicts the battlefield’s intensity by likening the combat to a raging fire whose components are chariots, armor, flames, and weapons—conveying the scale and terror of the Kurukṣetra fighting.