Shloka 17

Devanagari script

तेषामापततां शब्द: शुश्रुवे फाल्गुनं प्रति,अताडयन्‌ रणे भीष्मं सहिता: सर्वसृञज्जया: । समस्त सूंजय वीर एक साथ संगठित हो भयंकर शतघ्नी, परिघ, फरसे, मुद्गर, मुसल, प्रास, गोफन, स्वर्णमय पंखवाले बाण, शक्ति, तोमर, कम्पन, नाराच, वत्सदन्‍्त और भुशुण्डी आदि अस्त्र-शस्त्रोंद्वारा रणभूमिमें भीष्मको सब ओरसे पीड़ा देने लगे

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | teṣām āpatatāṃ śabdaḥ śuśruve phālgunaṃ prati, atāḍayan raṇe bhīṣmaṃ sahitāḥ sarvasṛñjayāḥ |

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Das Dröhnen jener Krieger, die heranstürmten, war zu hören, wie eine Woge, die auf Phālguna (Arjuna) zurollt. Vereint schlugen alle Sṛñjayas in der Schlacht auf Bhīṣma ein und bedrängten ihn von allen Seiten.

Word by Word

• {'sañjaya uvāca': 'Sañjaya said', 'teṣām': 'of them', 'āpatatām': 'of those rushing/charging down', 'śabdaḥ': 'sound, roar, din', 'śuśruve': 'was heard', 'phālgunaṃ prati': 'toward Phālguna (Arjuna)', 'atāḍayan': 'they struck, smote, attacked', 'raṇe': 'in battle', 'bhīṣmam': 'Bhīṣma', 'sahitāḥ': 'together, united', 'sarva-sṛñjayāḥ': 'all the Sṛñjayas (Pāṇḍava-aligned warriors)'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Phālguna (Arjuna)
• Bhīṣma
• Sṛñjayas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the battlefield tension between reverence and duty: Bhīṣma is an elder worthy of honor, yet once he stands as a commander in war, opposing warriors—acting under their own kṣatriya-dharma and allegiance—treat him as a legitimate target. It reflects how dharma in war can demand harsh action even against the venerable.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that the thunderous sound of charging warriors is heard moving toward Arjuna, while the Sṛñjaya forces, acting in concert, strike Bhīṣma in the thick of battle, pressing him from all sides with weapons.