Shloka 19

Devanagari script

यत्‌ तद्‌ बलममित्राणां तथा वीर्यसमुद्यतम्‌ । हस्त्यश्वरथसम्पन्नं त्रिभिरज्जैरनुत्तमम्‌

Transliteration

yat tad balam amitrāṇāṁ tathā vīrya-samudyatam | hastyaśva-ratha-sampannaṁ tribhir ajjair anuttamam ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Eben jene Stärke der Feinde — zusammen mit ihrer aufgerüttelten, kampfbereiten Tapferkeit — war reich ausgestattet mit Elefanten, Pferden und Streitwagen und war unübertrefflich, getragen von drei Abteilungen.“

Word by Word

यत्which/that (relative)

तत्that (correlative)

बलम्strength, force

अमित्राणाम्of the enemies

तथाand also; likewise

वीर्य-समुद्यतम्having prowess raised/roused; with energy mustered

हस्ति-अश्व-रथ-सम्पन्नम्endowed with elephants, horses, and chariots

त्रिभिःby/with three

अर्जैःby/with Arjuna-s (heroes named Arjuna) / by the Arjunas

अनुत्तमम्unsurpassed, excellent

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

amitrāḥ (enemies/foes)

hasti (elephants)

aśva (horses)

ratha (chariots)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how military power is assessed in classical dharma literature: not merely by numbers, but by readiness (samudyata-vīrya) and complete equipment across the main arms of warfare. It implicitly cautions that formidable force arises from organization and preparedness, not only from intent.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana is describing the enemies’ force as exceptionally strong and fully prepared, emphasizing that it is well supplied with elephants, horses, and chariots—the principal battlefield components—making it appear unsurpassed.