Shloka 14

Devanagari script

एवमुक्त: श्वसन्‌ क्रोधान्महेष्वासतमो नृप । पार्थेन परुषं वाक्‍्यं सर्वमर्मभिदा गिरा,नरेश्वर! जब अर्जुनने सारे मर्मस्थानोंको विदीर्ण कर देनेवाली वाणीद्वारा उससे ऐसी कठोर बात कह दी, तब श्रेष्ठ महाधनुर्धर अश्व॒त्थामा क्रोधके मारे लंबी साँस लेने लगा

Transliteration

evam uktaḥ śvasan krodhān maheṣvāsatamo nṛpa | pārthena paruṣaṁ vākyaṁ sarvamarmabhidā girā ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: So angered, o König, begann der vornehmste der großen Bogenschützen schwer zu atmen vor Zorn, nachdem Pārtha ihn mit harten Worten angesprochen hatte, die jeden wunden Punkt trafen.

Word by Word

एवम्thus

उक्तःhaving been spoken to / addressed

श्वसन्breathing

क्रोधात्from/owing to anger

महेष्वासतमःthe foremost great archer

नृपO king

पार्थेनby Partha (Arjuna)

परुषम्harsh

वाक्यम्speech/words

सर्वall

मर्मभिदाwith (a speech) that pierces vital points

गिराby speech/utterance

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Arjuna (Pārtha)

Aśvatthāmā

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'nṛpa')

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?

The verse highlights the ethical power of speech: words can strike 'vital points' like weapons, provoking anger and intensifying conflict. It cautions that harsh, piercing speech in a charged setting can become a catalyst for further violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

After Arjuna (Pārtha) addresses Aśvatthāmā with cutting, harsh words, Aśvatthāmā—described as a foremost archer—reacts physically and emotionally, breathing hard under the force of anger. Sañjaya reports this to the king.