Shloka 16

Gaṅgā-tīra Udaka-kriyā and Kuntī’s Disclosure of Karṇa’s Maternity

Strī-parva, Adhyāya 27

Devanagari script

तलशब्दानुनदितो महारथमहाह्द: । यस्येषुपातमासाद्य नान्यस्तिष्ठेद्‌ धनंजयात्‌

Transliteration

talaśabdānunadito mahārathamahāhradaḥ | yasy eṣupātam āsādya nānyas tiṣṭhed dhanañjayāt ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: „Er glich einem weiten, tiefen See, den das scharfe Klappern des tala (des Händeklatschens) in Resonanz versetzt — ein großer Wagenkrieger von ungeheurer Tiefe. Sobald jemand in den Bereich geriet, in dem seine Pfeile niederfielen, konnte kein anderer Kämpfer standhaft gegen Dhanañjaya (Arjuna) bestehen.“

Word by Word

तलशब्दानुनदितःresounding with the sound of palms (clapping)

महारथमहाह्रदःhe whose great lake is (filled with) great chariot-warriors

यस्यof whom/whose

इषुपातम्the fall/flight of arrows; arrow-shot

आसाद्यhaving reached/encountered

नnot

अन्यःanother (person)

तिष्ठेत्could stand/remain

धनंजयात्from Dhanañjaya (Arjuna)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Dhanañjaya (Arjuna)

arrows (iṣu)

tala (palm/clapper)

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 underscores the overwhelming force of a truly great warrior: when power is joined with mastery (here, Arjuna’s arrow-range), ordinary resistance collapses. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s sober recognition that in war, prowess can make outcomes feel inevitable—heightening the tragedy that follows in the Strī-parvan.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a formidable battlefield presence using vivid similes and sound-imagery, emphasizing that once opponents entered the effective range of Arjuna’s arrows, they could not hold their ground against him.