Shloka 39

शकुनिवधः — Sahadeva’s Slaying of Śakuni

with Ulūka’s fall

Devanagari script

ततोअस्य स्यन्दनस्येषां चिच्छिदे पाण्डुनन्दन: । शिलाशितेन च विभो क्षुरप्रेण महायशा:

Transliteration

tato 'sya syandanasyeṣāṃ cicchide pāṇḍunandanaḥ | śilāśitena ca vibho kṣurapreṇa mahāyaśāḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Dann durchschnitt der Sohn Pāṇḍus, der ruhmreiche Held, mit einem auf Stein geschärften Klingenpfeil die Zügel des gegnerischen Wagens.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

अस्यof this (him/it)

स्यन्दनस्यof the chariot

ईषाम्poles/shafts (of the chariot)

चिच्छिदेcut, severed

पाण्डुनन्दनःthe son of Pāṇḍu (Arjuna)

शिलाशितेनwith (a weapon) whetted on stone; stone-sharpened

चand

विभोO mighty one

क्षुरप्रेणwith a razor-edged (arrow/weapon)

महायशाःthe greatly renowned (one)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Pāṇḍunandana (a Pāṇḍava, likely Arjuna)

chariot (syandana)

reins (īṣāḥ)

razor-edged arrow (kṣurapra)

stone (śilā)

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?

Even amid violence, the epic often highlights gradations of conduct: disabling an opponent’s capacity (here, control of the chariot via the reins) can be seen as a strategic restraint compared to directly killing, illustrating how skill and choice operate within the ethical pressures of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that the Pāṇḍava hero uses a stone-whetted, razor-edged arrow to sever the reins of the enemy’s chariot, thereby disrupting the opponent’s control and movement in the ongoing battle.