Shloka 26

दण्डधारवधः | The Slaying of Daṇḍadhāra

Devanagari script

शक्ति तां प्रहतां दृष्टवा चित्रो गृह महागदाम्‌ । प्रतिविन्ध्याय चिक्षेप रुक्मजालविभूषिताम्‌,उस शक्तिको नष्ट हुई देख चित्रने सोनेकी जालियोंसे विभूषित एक विशाल गदा हाथमें ले ली और उसे प्रतिविन्ध्यपर छोड़ दिया

Transliteration

śaktiṃ tāṃ prahatāṃ dṛṣṭvā citro gṛhya mahāgadām | prativindhyāya cikṣepa rukmajālavibhūṣitām ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Als er sah, dass die śakti niedergeschlagen und unbrauchbar geworden war, ergriff Citra eine gewaltige Keule (gada), geschmückt mit einem Netz aus Gold, und schleuderte sie auf Prativindhya.

Word by Word

शक्तिम्spear/weapon (shakti)

ताम्that (her/it)

प्रहताम्struck, smitten

दृष्ट्वाhaving seen

चित्रःChitra (a warrior named Chitra)

गृहीत्वाhaving taken/held

महागदाम्a great mace

प्रतिविन्ध्यायto/at Prativindhya

चिक्षेपthrew, cast

रुक्मजालविभूषिताम्adorned with a net of gold

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Citro (Citra)

Prativindhya

śakti (spear-weapon)

mahāgadā (great mace)

rukmajāla (golden lattice/mesh ornamentation)

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 battlefield ethic of persistence and adaptability: when a chosen weapon fails, a warrior immediately adopts another means to continue the fight. Implicitly, it also points to the moral strain of war—human ingenuity is repeatedly turned toward destruction, even among those bound by shared lineage and dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Citro sees his śakti (spear-weapon) has been neutralized. He then takes up a huge mace decorated with golden latticework and hurls it toward Prativindhya, continuing the exchange of missiles in the Karṇa Parva battle sequence.