Shloka 3

Adhyāya 111 (Book 6): Daśama-dina-saṃgrāma—Bhīṣma’s Counsel to Yudhiṣṭhira and the Śikhaṇḍin-Led Advance

Devanagari script

ध्मायत्सु दधिवर्णेषु जलजेषु समन्तत: । शिखण्डिनं पुरस्कृत्य निर्याता: पाण्डवा युधि

Transliteration

dhmāyatsu dadhivarṇeṣu jalajeṣu samantataḥ | śikhaṇḍinaṃ puraskṛtya niryātāḥ pāṇḍavā yudhi ||

Translation

قال سَنْجَيَا: «أيها الملك، عند طلوع الشمس دوّت آلات الحرب. ونُفِخَت الأصداف، بيضاء كالرائب، من كل جانب. وقدّموا شِخَنْدِين في المقدّمة، فخرج الباندافا من معسكرهم ليخوضوا القتال.»

Word by Word

• ध्मायत्सु: while being blown / when sounding
• ध्मायत्सु: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ध्मायत् (ध्मा धातु से वर्तमान कृदन्त)
• Form: नपुंसक, सप्तमी, बहुवचन

• दधिवर्णेषु: in/among those of curd-like color (white)
• दधिवर्णेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दधिवर्ण (दधि + वर्ण)
• Form: नपुंसक, सप्तमी, बहुवचन

• जलजेषु: in the water-born ones (conch-shells)
• जलजेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: जलज
• Form: नपुंसक, सप्तमी, बहुवचन

• समन्ततः: on all sides
• समन्ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्ततः

• शिखण्डिनम्: Shikhandin
• शिखण्डिनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिखण्डिन्
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• पुरस्कृत्य: having placed in front / making (him) the leader
• पुरस्कृत्य: Karma
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुरस् + कृ (कृ धातु)

• निर्याता: went out / marched forth
• निर्याता: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: निर् + या (या धातु)
• Form: भूत (कृत-प्रत्यय: क्त), प्रथम, बहुवचन

• पाण्डवाः: the Pandavas
• पाण्डवाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, बहुवचन

• युधि: in battle
• युधि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: युध्
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• King Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Śikhaṇḍin
• Pāṇḍavas
• conch-shells (śaṅkha/jalaja)
• battle instruments (drums/war-bands implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how dharma and strategy intertwine in war: the Pāṇḍavas deliberately place Śikhaṇḍin at the front, signaling a tactical and ethical turning point in the Bhīṣma episode, while the ritualized sounds of conches and drums frame the battle as a solemn, duty-bound undertaking rather than mere violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

At sunrise the battlefield comes alive with the blowing of white conch-shells and other war sounds. The Pāṇḍavas then leave their camp to fight, positioning Śikhaṇḍin as their vanguard.