Shloka 17

कालविभाग-निरूपणं तथा युद्धव्यवस्था

Time-Reckoning and Mobilization Counsel

Devanagari script

सम्भ्रान्तमनस: सर्वे काले हास्मिन्‌ महारथा: । नान्यत्र युद्धाच्छेयो5स्ति तथा55त्मा प्रणिधीयताम्‌

Transliteration

sambhrāntamanasaḥ sarve kāle hāsmin mahārathāḥ | nānyatra yuddhāc chreyo 'sti tathātmā praṇidhīyatām ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sagte: „All jene großen Wagenkämpfer, deren Sinn in dieser entscheidenden Stunde erschüttert war, sahen keinen besseren Weg als den Kampf. Darum richte man den Geist fest auf diesen Entschluss.“

Word by Word

सम्भ्रान्तमनसःwhose minds are agitated/confused

सर्वेall

कालेat the time

हindeed/for emphasis

अस्मिन्in this

महारथाःgreat chariot-warriors

नnot

अन्यत्रelsewhere/other than

युद्धात्from battle; than battle

श्रेयःthe better (good)

अस्तिis/exists

तथाthus/so

आत्माthe mind/self (one's attention)

प्रणिधीयताम्let it be directed/fixed (be applied)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

mahārathāḥ

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?

In a moment of danger and uncertainty, the verse frames battle as the most fitting course for great warriors and urges steadiness of mind—commitment to one’s duty without wavering.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator describes the great fighters as mentally shaken by the situation, yet concluding that no better option remains than to fight, and calls for firm inner resolve toward that decision.