Shloka 30

Devanagari script

खड्गमादाय सुशितं विमलं च शरावरम्‌ | श्येनवद्‌ व्यचरत्‌ क्रुद्ध/ शिखण्डी शत्रुतापन:,रथियोंमें श्रेष्ठ शत्रुसंतापी शिखण्डी घोड़ोंके मारे जानेपर उस रथसे कूद पड़ा और बहुत तीखी एवं चमकीली तलवार और ढाल हाथमें लेकर कुपित हुए श्येन पक्षीकी भाँति सब ओर विचरने लगा

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | khaḍgam ādāya suśitaṁ vimalaṁ ca śarāvaram | śyenavad vyacarat kruddhaḥ śikhaṇḍī śatrutāpanaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Mit einem scharf geschliffenen Schwert und einem makellosen Schild in der Hand bewegte sich Śikhaṇḍī—der Feindversenger—zornentbrannt über das Schlachtfeld wie ein Falke.

Word by Word

खड्गम्sword

आदायhaving taken

सुशितम्well-sharpened

विमलम्spotless, bright

चand

शरावरम्shield

श्येनवत्like a hawk

व्यचरत्moved about, roamed

क्रुद्धःangry

शिखण्डीShikhandi

शत्रुतापनःscorcher of enemies

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Śikhaṇḍī

sword (khaḍga)

shield (śarāvara)

hawk (śyena)

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 kṣatriya ideal of steadfast martial readiness: even amid chaos, a warrior must act decisively. At the same time, it implicitly warns that anger (krodha) fuels violence—an ethical tension repeatedly explored in the Mahābhārata.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Śikhaṇḍī taking a sharp sword and bright shield and ranging about the battlefield in fury, compared to a hawk’s swift, circling movement—signaling close-quarters combat after chariot-based fighting is disrupted.