Shloka 64

Devanagari script

नानाविधान्यनीकानि पुत्राणां ते जनाधिप । अर्जुनो व्यधमत्‌ काले दिवीवाभ्राणि मारुत:,जनेश्वर! जैसे आकाशगमें फैले हुए बादलोंको हवा छिलन्न-भिन्न कर देती है, उसी प्रकार अर्जुनने उस अवसरपर आपके पुत्रोंकी विविध सेनाओंको विनष्ट कर दिया

Transliteration

nānāvidhāny anīkāni putrāṇāṁ te janādhipa | arjuno vyadhamat kāle divīvābhrāṇi mārutaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: O König, in jenem Augenblick zerschmetterte Arjuna die vielgestaltigen Schlachtordnungen deiner Söhne—wie der Wind die über den Himmel gebreiteten Wolken zerreißt. Das Bild hebt Arjunas überwältigende Kraft hervor: Disziplinierte Aufstellungen und ererbte Macht brechen zusammen, wenn sie auf überlegene Kunst und Entschlossenheit im Krieg treffen.

Word by Word

नानाvarious, manifold

विधानिkinds, types

अनीकानिarmies, divisions (of troops)

पुत्राणाम्of (your) sons

तेyour

जनाधिपO lord of people (king)

अर्जुनःArjuna

व्यधमत्blew apart, scattered, destroyed (as by blowing)

कालेat the time, on that occasion

दिविin the sky

इवlike, as

अभ्राणिclouds

मारुतःwind

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Arjuna

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'janādhipa' and 'your sons')

Kauravas (implied by 'your sons')

wind (mārutaḥ)

clouds (abhrāṇi)

sky (divi)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the fragility of even vast, well-arranged power when confronted by superior capability and momentum. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s war context: martial excellence (kṣatriya-dharma) can decisively overturn inherited advantage, and worldly formations—like clouds—are impermanent before stronger forces.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the king that Arjuna, in the thick of battle, breaks apart the diverse military formations of the king’s sons. The comparison to wind shredding clouds conveys speed, inevitability, and the dispersal of organized ranks under Arjuna’s assault.