Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 58

Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)

Devanagari script

ततो युधिष्ठिरश्नापमादायेन्द्रधनुष्प्रभम्‌

Transliteration

tato yudhiṣṭhiraś cāpaṃ ādāyendradhanuṣprabham

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then Yudhiṣṭhira took up a bow that shone like Indra’s rainbow—signaling his resolve to act with kingly responsibility amid the pressures of war.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable)

• युधिष्ठिरः: Yudhiṣṭhira
• युधिष्ठिरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: युधिष्ठिर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग; प्रथमा; एकवचन

• आपम्: water
• आपम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन

• आदाय: having taken
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + दा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपदी; अर्थः—‘गृहीत्वा’

• इन्द्रधनुष्प्रभम्: having the radiance of a rainbow
• इन्द्रधनुष्प्रभम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इन्द्रधनुस्-प्रभ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग; द्वितीया; एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• cāpa (bow)
• Indra (by reference)
• Indra’s bow (rainbow)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even a dharma-minded ruler must sometimes take up arms: the verse highlights disciplined resolve—entering action not from rage, but from responsibility within the moral demands of a just war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates that Yudhiṣṭhira physically takes up a radiant bow, a vivid cue that he is preparing to engage in the unfolding battle events of the Śalya Parva.