Shloka 32

Adhyāya 41 — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Briefing and the Renewal of the Great Engagement

Devanagari script

शत्रु: शदे: शासतेर्वा श्यतेर्वा शणातेर्वा श्वसते: सीदते्वा

Transliteration

śatruḥ śadeḥ śāsatervā śyatervā śaṇātervā śvasateḥ sīdatetvā

Translation

三阇耶说道：“‘敌’（śatru）一词有多重含义——害人者，统御或惩戒者，刺穿或击打者，毁灭者，吐息而出（仿佛要吞噬）者，或使他人沉沦于苦厄者。”

Word by Word

• शत्रुः: enemy
• शत्रुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत्रु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• शदेः: falls/decays (from √शद्)
• शदेः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: शद्
• Form: Present (Lat), Third, Singular

• शासतेः: rules/commands (from √शास्)
• शासतेः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: शास्
• Form: Present (Lat), Third, Singular

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

• श्यतेः: wastes away/withers (from √श्यै/√श्ये)
• श्यतेः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्यै/श्ये
• Form: Present (Lat), Third, Singular

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

• शणातेः: sounds/resounds (from √शण्)
• शणातेः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: शण्
• Form: Present (Lat), Third, Singular

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

• श्वसतेः: breathes (from √श्वस्)
• श्वसतेः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: श्वस्
• Form: Present (Lat), Third, Singular

• सीदते: sinks/desponds (from √सद्)
• सीदते: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: सद्
• Form: Present (Lat), Third, Singular

• वा: or
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: वा

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames ‘enemy’ not merely as a battlefield opponent but as anyone who causes harm, subjugation, wounding, or inner collapse—suggesting an ethical lens where enmity is defined by actions and effects rather than by labels alone.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya offers a lexical/interpretive clarification of the term ‘śatru’ through multiple root-derivations, sharpening how the listener should understand ‘enemy’ within the war narrative and its moral stakes.