Mahabharata

by

Vyasa

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Samjaya Character Analysis

Samjaya is the narrator for many of the scenes from the Kurukshetra battle, and he describes what happened each day to his blind king, Dhritarashtra. He constantly reminds Dhritarashtra that the Kaurava losses on the battlefield are not just bad luck but a direct result of Dhritarashtra’s failure to rein in Duryodhana. Samjaya’s ability to see practically everything during the battle reflects his clear ability to see what’s just and moral, and it makes him the opposite of Dhritarashtra, whose literal blindness to the events can also leave him deluded.

Samjaya Quotes in Mahabharata

The Mahabharata quotes below are all either spoken by Samjaya or refer to Samjaya. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Dharma Theme Icon
).
Chapter 7. Drona Quotes

The hero who had laid waste the entire Kuru army, like an elephant in a lotus pond, now lay resplendent in death, like a wild elephant slain by hunters.

Related Characters: Samjaya (speaker), Ugraśravas (speaker), Vaiśampayana (speaker), Arjuna , Drona, Abhimanyu , Jayadratha
Page Number: 428
Explanation and Analysis:

And he performed this last find and astonishing foe-slaying feat: at the time he was pierced in the heart by the Spear, he appeared, O king, huge as a cloud, or a mountain; then that Rakshasa prince fell headlong to earth from on high, body torn, limbs stilled, lifeless and speechless, but gigantic in form. Bhima’s son Ghatotkaca, doer of fearful deeds, fell with the terrifying, fearful form he had assumed; and thus even in death he smashed on whole section of your army, bringing terror to the Kauravas.

Related Characters: Samjaya (speaker), Ugraśravas (speaker), Vaiśampayana (speaker), Arjuna , Krishna , Bhima , Karna, Abhimanyu , Ghatotkaca
Related Symbols: Celestial Weapons
Page Number: 469
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8. Karna Quotes

‘Karna, if you challenge Arjuna to battle, you are a hare challenging a mighty elephant with tusks like plough-shafts, its temporal glands bursting with rut. If you want to fight the son of Kunti, you are a silly child poking with a stick a deadly poisonous king cobra in its hole, its hood expanded.’

Related Characters: Samjaya (speaker), Ugraśravas (speaker), Salya (speaker), Vaiśampayana (speaker), Arjuna , Duryodhana , Karna, Abhimanyu , Kunti , Ghatotkaca
Related Symbols: Snakes, Celestial Weapons
Page Number: 496
Explanation and Analysis:

The glorious standard of Karna the mighty chariot-fighter was now destroyed by the noble wearer of the diadem with a razor-edged, gold-shafted arrow that he shot with the greatest of care; and with the fall of that standard there fell too the Kurus’ fame and dharma, and their hopes of victory, sir, and all that they held dear, and their very hearts.

Related Characters: Samjaya (speaker), Ugraśravas (speaker), Vaiśampayana (speaker), Arjuna , Karna, Salya
Related Symbols: Celestial Weapons
Page Number: 523
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9. Salya Quotes

Bhima of fearful deeds brought down that club with an impact like that of a thunderbolt, and it smashed Duryodhana’s two handsome thighs.

Related Characters: Samjaya (speaker), Ugraśravas (speaker), Vaiśampayana (speaker), Duryodhana , Krishna , Bhima
Page Number: 553
Explanation and Analysis:

Seeing these most wonderful happenings, and the honour paid to Duryodhana, the Pandavas felt ashamed; they grieved mightily to hear it said that Bhishma, Drona, Karna, and Buriśravas had been killed unfairly. But Krishna, seeing them anxious and downcast, proclaimed in a voice sounding like thunder or drums, ‘Duryodhana here with his swift weapons, and those other valiant chariot-fighters, could not have been slain by you on the battlefield in a fair fight. That is why I devised these stratagems, lords of men—otherwise the victory of the Pandavas could never have happened.’

Related Characters: Krishna (speaker), Samjaya (speaker), Ugraśravas (speaker), Vaiśampayana (speaker), Duryodhana , Bhishma , Drona, Karna
Page Number: 560
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10. The Night-Raid Quotes

Drona’s son Aśvatthaman watched that owl carry out its guileful attack at night. The bird’s behaviour filled him with new resolve, and he said to himself, ‘This bird has given me good advice in warfare!’

Related Characters: Aśvatthaman (speaker), Samjaya (speaker), Ugraśravas (speaker), Vaiśampayana (speaker), Drona, Śiva
Page Number: 564
Explanation and Analysis:

‘Here is the jewel, and here am I.’

Related Characters: Aśvatthaman (speaker), Samjaya (speaker), Ugraśravas (speaker), Vaiśampayana (speaker), Krishna , Bhima , Drona, Draupadi , Śiva
Page Number: 578
Explanation and Analysis:
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Samjaya Quotes in Mahabharata

The Mahabharata quotes below are all either spoken by Samjaya or refer to Samjaya. For each quote, you can also see the other characters and themes related to it (each theme is indicated by its own dot and icon, like this one:
Dharma Theme Icon
).
Chapter 7. Drona Quotes

The hero who had laid waste the entire Kuru army, like an elephant in a lotus pond, now lay resplendent in death, like a wild elephant slain by hunters.

Related Characters: Samjaya (speaker), Ugraśravas (speaker), Vaiśampayana (speaker), Arjuna , Drona, Abhimanyu , Jayadratha
Page Number: 428
Explanation and Analysis:

And he performed this last find and astonishing foe-slaying feat: at the time he was pierced in the heart by the Spear, he appeared, O king, huge as a cloud, or a mountain; then that Rakshasa prince fell headlong to earth from on high, body torn, limbs stilled, lifeless and speechless, but gigantic in form. Bhima’s son Ghatotkaca, doer of fearful deeds, fell with the terrifying, fearful form he had assumed; and thus even in death he smashed on whole section of your army, bringing terror to the Kauravas.

Related Characters: Samjaya (speaker), Ugraśravas (speaker), Vaiśampayana (speaker), Arjuna , Krishna , Bhima , Karna, Abhimanyu , Ghatotkaca
Related Symbols: Celestial Weapons
Page Number: 469
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 8. Karna Quotes

‘Karna, if you challenge Arjuna to battle, you are a hare challenging a mighty elephant with tusks like plough-shafts, its temporal glands bursting with rut. If you want to fight the son of Kunti, you are a silly child poking with a stick a deadly poisonous king cobra in its hole, its hood expanded.’

Related Characters: Samjaya (speaker), Ugraśravas (speaker), Salya (speaker), Vaiśampayana (speaker), Arjuna , Duryodhana , Karna, Abhimanyu , Kunti , Ghatotkaca
Related Symbols: Snakes, Celestial Weapons
Page Number: 496
Explanation and Analysis:

The glorious standard of Karna the mighty chariot-fighter was now destroyed by the noble wearer of the diadem with a razor-edged, gold-shafted arrow that he shot with the greatest of care; and with the fall of that standard there fell too the Kurus’ fame and dharma, and their hopes of victory, sir, and all that they held dear, and their very hearts.

Related Characters: Samjaya (speaker), Ugraśravas (speaker), Vaiśampayana (speaker), Arjuna , Karna, Salya
Related Symbols: Celestial Weapons
Page Number: 523
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 9. Salya Quotes

Bhima of fearful deeds brought down that club with an impact like that of a thunderbolt, and it smashed Duryodhana’s two handsome thighs.

Related Characters: Samjaya (speaker), Ugraśravas (speaker), Vaiśampayana (speaker), Duryodhana , Krishna , Bhima
Page Number: 553
Explanation and Analysis:

Seeing these most wonderful happenings, and the honour paid to Duryodhana, the Pandavas felt ashamed; they grieved mightily to hear it said that Bhishma, Drona, Karna, and Buriśravas had been killed unfairly. But Krishna, seeing them anxious and downcast, proclaimed in a voice sounding like thunder or drums, ‘Duryodhana here with his swift weapons, and those other valiant chariot-fighters, could not have been slain by you on the battlefield in a fair fight. That is why I devised these stratagems, lords of men—otherwise the victory of the Pandavas could never have happened.’

Related Characters: Krishna (speaker), Samjaya (speaker), Ugraśravas (speaker), Vaiśampayana (speaker), Duryodhana , Bhishma , Drona, Karna
Page Number: 560
Explanation and Analysis:
Chapter 10. The Night-Raid Quotes

Drona’s son Aśvatthaman watched that owl carry out its guileful attack at night. The bird’s behaviour filled him with new resolve, and he said to himself, ‘This bird has given me good advice in warfare!’

Related Characters: Aśvatthaman (speaker), Samjaya (speaker), Ugraśravas (speaker), Vaiśampayana (speaker), Drona, Śiva
Page Number: 564
Explanation and Analysis:

‘Here is the jewel, and here am I.’

Related Characters: Aśvatthaman (speaker), Samjaya (speaker), Ugraśravas (speaker), Vaiśampayana (speaker), Krishna , Bhima , Drona, Draupadi , Śiva
Page Number: 578
Explanation and Analysis: