Shloka 4

Bhīmasena’s Kalinga Engagement and the Approach of Bhīṣma (भीमसेन-कालिङ्ग-संग्रामः)

Devanagari script

रथानीकं नरव्याप्रा: केचिदभ्यपतन्‌ रथै: । अभज्यन्त युगैरेव युगानि भरतर्षभ

Transliteration

rathānīkaṃ naravyāprāḥ kecid abhyapatan rathaiḥ | abhajyanta yugair eva yugāni bharatarṣabha ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：有些英勇之士一心求战，驾战车径直冲入敌方战车阵。噢，婆罗多族中的雄牛啊，许多车轭在轭与轭的撞击中粉碎——这正是近身鏖战的狂烈图景：技艺与胆魄，撞上战争冷硬而无情的机括。

Word by Word

• रथानीकम्: the chariot-division (chariot-army)
• रथानीकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ + अनीक
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• नरव्याप्राः: tigers among men (heroic men)
• नरव्याप्राः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नर + व्याघ्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• केचित्: some
• केचित्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: किम् (प्रातिपदिक: केचिद्-)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• अभ्यपतन्: rushed upon / attacked
• अभ्यपतन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: पत्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Plural

• रथैः: with chariots
• रथैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• अभज्यन्त: were broken
• अभज्यन्त: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: भञ्ज्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), Ātmanepada (passive sense), 3rd, Plural

• युगैः: by yokes
• युगैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• एव: indeed / just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• युगानि: yokes
• युगानि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: युग
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• भरतर्षभ: O bull among the Bharatas
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरत + ऋषभ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by address: bharatarṣabha)
• ratha (chariot)
• rathānīka (chariot-formation)
• yuga (chariot-yoke)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the epic’s realism about war: courage and martial intent drive men forward, yet outcomes are also shaped by material force and collision—highlighting the grave cost and uncontrollable momentum of armed conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a surge of warriors charging into the opposing chariot ranks; the fighting is so close that chariot-yokes collide and break, conveying the intensity and congestion of the battlefield.