Shloka 26

कर्णपर्व — चतुर्दशोऽध्यायः

Arjuna’s Suppression of the Saṃśaptakas; Kṛṣṇa’s Strategic Admonition; Battlefield Inventory

Devanagari script

बाणाभिघातात्‌ संजज्ञे तत्र भारत पावक:

Transliteration

bāṇābhighātāt sañjajñe tatra bhārata pāvakaḥ

Translation

三阇耶说道：“噢，婆罗多啊！在那处，因箭矢相击之力，炽烈之火骤然腾起。于战争的道德氛围中，纵是为求胜利而举的兵刃，也会化作更广泛毁灭的因缘；暴力往往溢出其本欲指向的目标，连无辜者也与有罪者一同被吞噬。”

Word by Word

• बाणाभिघातात्: from the удар/impact of arrows
• बाणाभिघातात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाणाभिघात
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• संजज्ञे: arose / was produced
• Type: Verb
• Root: जन्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular, Ātmanepada

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र

• भारत: O Bhārata
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• पावकः: fire (Agni)
• पावकः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पावक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra as addressee)
• bāṇa (arrows)
• pāvaka (fire/Agni)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the unintended escalation of harm in warfare: actions driven by conflict can generate consequences beyond control, symbolized by fire arising from arrow-strikes, urging reflection on responsibility and the wider cost of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that amid the battle, the striking of arrows caused a fire to flare up at the scene, intensifying the chaos and destruction on the battlefield.