Shloka 12

Devanagari script

न सूची कपिशो नैव न गवास्थिर्गजास्थिज: । इषुरासीन्न संश्लिष्टो न पूतिन्न च जिह्यग:,न सूची*, न कपिश”, न गायकी* हड्डीका बना हुआ, न हाथीकी* हड्डीका बना हुआ, न दो फलों या काँटोंवाला, न दुर्गन्‍न्धयुक्त और न जिह्ाग (टेढ़ा जानेवाला) बाण ही काममें लाया जाता था

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

na sūcī kapiśo naiva na gavāsthir gajāsthijaḥ |

iṣur āsīn na saṃśliṣṭo na pūtir na ca jihvagaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: In jener Schlacht wurde kein Pfeil verwendet, der nadelspitz war, keiner aus Affenknochen, keiner aus Kuh- oder Elefantenknochen; ebenso wenig setzte man zusammengesetzte oder gegliederte, übelriechende oder im Flug krumm und trügerisch verlaufende Pfeile ein.

Word by Word

नnot

सूचीneedle; (needle-like point)

कपिशःbrownish/reddish (tawny)

नnot

एवindeed; at all

नnot

गवास्थिःcow-bone (made of cow bone)

गजास्थिजःborn of elephant-bone; made of elephant bone

इषुःarrow

आसीत्was

नnot

संश्लिष्टःjoined/compacted; stuck together

नnot

पूतिःfoul-smelling; rotten

नnot

चand

जिह्यगःcrooked-going; deviating

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

arrow (iṣu)

cow-bone (gavāsthi)

elephant-bone (gajāsthi)

monkey (kapi)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in war, conduct is bounded by dharma: weapons associated with cruelty, deception, or impurity are rejected, implying that victory should not be pursued through ignoble means.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the nature of the missiles used in the fighting, emphasizing that certain objectionable kinds of arrows—needle-tipped, bone-made, composite/jointed, foul, or crooked—were not employed.