Shloka 7

Śalya-parva Adhyāya 34: Balarāma’s Withdrawal, Sarasvatī Pilgrimage Logistics, and Prabhāsa as Soma’s Renewal Tīrtha

Devanagari script

ततस्तदा गदाहस्तौ दुर्योधनवृकोदरौ

Transliteration

tatastadā gadāhastau duryodhanavṛkodarau

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Da standen in jenem Augenblick Duryodhana und Vṛkodara—beide die Keule fest umklammert—bereit zum entscheidenden Zusammenstoß; ein düsterer Höhepunkt des Krieges, in dem persönliche Kraft und Entschlossenheit erprobt werden, mitten im moralischen Verfall eines brudermörderischen Konflikts.

Word by Word

• ततः: then; thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (पञ्चमी-अर्थे: 'from/thereafter')

• तदा: at that time
• तदा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (कालवाचक: 'at that time')

• गदाहस्तौ: having a mace in hand; mace-in-hand
• गदाहस्तौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गदाहस्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन

• दुर्योधनवृकोदरौ: Duryodhana and Vṛkodara (Bhīma)
• दुर्योधनवृकोदरौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुर्योधन + वृकोदर (प्रातिपदिके)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, द्विवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Duryodhana
• Vṛkodara (Bhīma)
• gadā (mace)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the climactic testing of kṣatriya valor and resolve, while implicitly reminding that even heroic skill unfolds within the tragic ethical landscape of a fratricidal war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates that Duryodhana and Bhīma (Vṛkodara) are both holding maces, indicating their readiness for the decisive mace-duel central to this section of the Śalya Parva.