Shloka 20

भीमसेन-दुर्योधन-समागमः

Bhīmasena–Duryodhana Engagement at Sunset

Devanagari script

रथसड्घा नरव्याप्रा: समायान्तश्न संयुगे । विरेजु: समरे राजन्‌ ग्रहा इव नभस्तले

Transliteration

rathasaṅghā naravyāprāḥ samāyāntaś ca saṃyuge | virejuḥ samare rājan grahā iva nabhastale ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：大王啊，当战阵将合之际，密集成群的战车队列与人中翘楚——诸位武士之王——挺进战场。在那厮杀之地，他们放出令人心悸的辉煌，宛如群星列宿装点天穹。

Word by Word

• रथसङ्घाः: groups of chariots
• रथसङ्घाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथसङ्घ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• नरव्याघ्राः: tiger-like men (best of men)
• नरव्याघ्राः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरव्याघ्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• समायान्तः: coming together/approaching
• समायान्तः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-आ-या
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural, शतृ (present active participle)

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• संयुगे: in battle
• संयुगे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संयुग
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• विरेजुः: shone/appeared splendid
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-राज्
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• समरे: in the battle
• समरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समर
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• ग्रहाः: planets (luminaries)
• ग्रहाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ग्रह
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• इव: like/as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• नभस्तले: on the surface of the sky
• नभस्तले: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नभस्तल
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• chariot-hosts (rathasaṅghāḥ)
• warrior-kings/foremost men (narāḥ)
• celestial bodies (grahāḥ)
• sky/firmament (nabhastala)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how war can appear outwardly magnificent—like the ordered beauty of the heavens—yet it remains a human clash driven by royal ambition and martial duty. It invites reflection on the contrast between aesthetic splendor and the grave ethical weight of battle.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the chariot formations and leading warriors are advancing into combat. Their assembled forces glitter on the battlefield, compared poetically to planets and stars shining in the sky.