Shloka 4

पाण्डवसेनानायकाभिषेकः तथा बलरामागमन-उपदेशः | Appointment of Pandava Commanders and Balarama’s Counsel

Devanagari script

सध्वजा: सपताकाश्न सशरासनतोमरा: । रज्जुभिश्न विचित्राभि: सपाशा: सपरिच्छदा:

Transliteration

sadhvajāḥ sapatākāś ca saśarāsanato-marāḥ | rajjubhiś ca vicitrābhiḥ sapāśāḥ saparicchadāḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Sie führten Standarten und Banner, Bögen und Pfeile sowie Wurfspieße; dazu trugen sie vielerlei Seile und Schlingen, mitsamt der ganzen Ausrüstung und den Vorräten.

Word by Word

• सध्वजाः: having flags/standards
• सध्वजाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ध्वज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सपताकाः: having pennons/banners
• सपताकाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पताका (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सशरासनतोमराः: having bows and javelins
• सशरासनतोमराः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शरासन (प्रातिपदिक); तोमर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• रज्जुभिः: with ropes
• रज्जुभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रज्जु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Plural

• विचित्राभिः: variegated/various
• विचित्राभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विचित्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Plural

• सपाशाः: having nooses/cords
• सपाशाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पाश (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सपरिच्छदाः: with equipment/gear
• सपरिच्छदाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परिच्छद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• dhvaja (standards)
• patākā (banners)
• śarāsana (bows)
• śara (arrows, implied by śarāsana)
• tomara (javelins)
• rajju (ropes)
• pāśa (nooses)
• paricchada (equipment/supplies)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights that war is sustained by preparation and apparatus—standards, weapons, and tools of binding and capture. Ethically, it points to the gravity of choosing conflict: once mobilization is complete, violence becomes systematized, making the prior commitment to dharma and restraint even more crucial.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator lists the martial equipment carried by the forces: flags and banners for identification and morale, bows and missiles for combat, and ropes and nooses for binding or capturing—indicating an army fully outfitted and ready for impending confrontation.