Shloka 25

Daiva–Puruṣakāra Discourse and the Elephant-Corps Engagement (भीमगजानीक-सम्भ्रान्ति)

Devanagari script

हतमात्मसुतं दृष्टवा कलिड्रानां जनाधिप:

Transliteration

hatam ātmasutaṃ dṛṣṭvā kaliḍrāṇāṃ janādhipaḥ

Translation

三阇耶说道：“见到亲子被杀，迦利陀罗族之主为悲恸与惊骇所击——这正显出战争如何使君王亦成哀哭之人；而对‘我之所有’的执著，在战场上法度与秩序崩塌之际，便化作痛苦之源。”

Word by Word

• हतम्: slain
• हतम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हन् (क्त)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• आत्मसुतम्: one's own son
• आत्मसुतम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मसुत
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (त्वा)
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund)

• कलिङ्गानाम्: of the Kalingas
• Type: Noun
• Root: कलिङ्ग
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• जनाधिपः: the king (lord of people)
• जनाधिपः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जनाधिप
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• the ruler (janādhipa) of the Kaliḍras
• the ruler’s son (ātmasuta)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the human cost of war: even those who uphold martial duty are not spared the suffering born of attachment and loss. It implicitly contrasts the ideals of kṣatriya-dharma with the emotional devastation that battle inevitably brings.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a battlefield moment in which the king of the Kaliḍras sees his own son killed, marking a turn from command and valor to grief and disorientation amid the ongoing conflict.