Shloka 10

Devanagari script

तं॑ तेडभिषिषिचुर्बाणैमेंघा गिरिमिवाम्बुभि: । स तु तान्‌ प्रममाथैको विष्वग्वातो यथाम्बुदान्‌,जैसे बादल किसी पर्वतको अपने जलकी धाराओंसे सींचते हैं, उसी प्रकार वे महारथी अभिमन्युपर बाणोंकी वर्षा करने लगे। जैसे चारों ओरसे बहनेवाली हवा (चौवाई) बादलोंको उड़ा देती है, उसी प्रकार अकेले अभिमन्युने उन सबको मथ डाला

Transliteration

taṁ te 'bhiṣiṣicur bāṇair meghā girim ivāmbubhiḥ | sa tu tān pramamāthaiko viśvagvāto yathāmbudān ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Sie übergossen ihn mit Pfeilen, wie Wolken einen Berg mit Regenströmen tränken. Doch Abhimanyu allein zerschmetterte sie alle, wie ein Wind, der aus allen Richtungen weht, die Wolken auseinanderjagt und aufwühlt.

Word by Word

• {'tam': 'him (i.e., Abhimanyu)', 'te': 'they (those warriors)', 'abhiṣiṣicuḥ': 'they sprinkled/drenched (intensively)', 'bāṇaiḥ': 'with arrows', 'meghāḥ': 'clouds', 'girim': 'a mountain', 'iva': 'like, as', 'ambubhiḥ': 'with waters (rain-water)', 'sa tu': 'but he (on the other hand)', 'tān': 'them', 'pramamātha': 'crushed, shattered, churned up, routed', 'ekaḥ': 'alone', 'viśvagvātaḥ': 'wind blowing from all directions', 'yathā': 'just as', 'ambudān': 'clouds (rain-bearing)'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Abhimanyu
• arrows (bāṇa)
• clouds (megha/ambuda)
• mountain (giri)
• wind (vāta)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse contrasts massed aggression with steadfast individual prowess, raising an ethical tension central to the Abhimanyu episode: many warriors overwhelm one hero, yet true valor and resolve can momentarily overturn numerical advantage—inviting reflection on fairness (dharma) in war.

What is happening in the narrative?

A group of great warriors showers Abhimanyu with arrows like rainclouds pouring on a mountain, but Abhimanyu counters alone and routs them, likened to a powerful wind scattering clouds in all directions.