Shloka 15

कर्णभीमसमागमः | Karṇa–Bhīma Encounter

Devanagari script

प्रत्यक्ष ते महाबाहो यथा रात्रौ घटोत्कच:

Transliteration

pratyakṣa te mahābāho yathā rātrau ghaṭotkacaḥ

Translation

三阇耶说道：“大臂者啊，此事于你眼前分明可见——正如夜间所见的伽托特迦遮一般。”

Word by Word

• प्रत्यक्षम्: directly visible; manifest
• प्रत्यक्षम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रत्यक्ष
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• ते: to you / for you
• ते: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Dative/Genitive, Singular

• महाबाहो: O mighty-armed one
• Type: Noun (vocative epithet)
• Root: महाबाहु
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• यथा: as; just as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• रात्रौ: in the night
• रात्रौ: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रात्रि
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• घटोत्कचः: Ghaṭotkaca
• घटोत्कचः: Karta
• Type: Noun (proper name)
• Root: घटोत्कच
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Ghaṭotkaca

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights pratyakṣa—direct, undeniable perception—as a basis for recognizing reality in the midst of war. It implies that certain truths (such as a warrior’s presence, power, or the consequences of actions) become unmistakable when witnessed firsthand, not merely inferred or reported.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating events to the listener, points to something being plainly visible “as (was) Ghaṭotkaca at night,” evoking the dramatic context of nocturnal combat where Ghaṭotkaca’s formidable presence becomes a striking, directly witnessed fact on the battlefield.