Shloka 39

Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration

Sañjaya’s Report

Devanagari script

रणे हते कौरवाणां प्रवीरे शिखण्डिना सत्तमे शान्तनूजे । न जातु नः शत्रवो धारयेयु- रसंशयं सत्यमेतद्‌ ब्रवीमि

Transliteration

raṇe hate kauravāṇāṁ pravīre śikhaṇḍinā sattame śāntanūje | na jātu naḥ śatravo dhārayeyur asaṁśayaṁ satyam etad bravīmi ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „Wenn in der Schlacht der vornehmste Held der Kauravas—Bhīṣma, der edle Sohn Śāntanus—durch Śikhaṇḍin gefallen ist, dann werden unsere Feinde unserem Ansturm niemals standhalten können. Daran zweifle ich nicht; ich spreche die Wahrheit.“

Word by Word

• {'raṇe': 'in battle, in war', 'hate': 'when slain

• (locative absolute) upon being killed', 'kauravāṇām': 'of the Kauravas', 'pravīre': 'in/when the foremost hero (is slain)

• chief warrior', 'śikhaṇḍinā': 'by Śikhaṇḍin (instrumental)', 'sattame': 'best, most excellent, foremost', 'śāntanūje': 'O son of Śāntanu (vocative)

• i.e., Bhīṣma', 'na jātu': 'never, at no time', 'naḥ': 'our', 'śatravaḥ': 'enemies', 'dhārayeyuḥ': 'would endure/withstand/bear (optative)', 'asaṁśayam': 'without doubt, certainly', 'satyam': 'truth', 'etat': 'this', 'bravīmi': 'I say, I declare'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Kauravas
• Bhīṣma (Śāntanuja)
• Śikhaṇḍin
• battle/war (raṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the decisive moral and strategic weight of a single pivotal event in war: once the seemingly invincible pillar (Bhīṣma) falls, the opposing side’s confidence and capacity to resist collapses. Sañjaya also foregrounds satya (truthful speech) by explicitly asserting certainty and truth in his report.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya predicts to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that if Bhīṣma—the Kauravas’ foremost warrior, son of Śāntanu—is slain in battle by Śikhaṇḍin, then the Kauravas’ enemies will become unstoppable, and the Kauravas will not be able to withstand their assault.