Shloka 24

द्रोण-पार्थ-युद्धम्

Droṇa–Pārtha Strategic Engagement

Devanagari script

तस्य शड्ुखस्य शब्देन रथनेमिस्वनेन च । गाण्डीवस्य च घोषेण पृथिवी समकम्पत

Transliteration

tasya ṣaḍmukhasya śabdena rathanemisvanena ca | gāṇḍīvasya ca ghoṣeṇa pṛthivī samakampata ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana sprach: Beim Klang jenes Muschelhorns, vereint mit dem Donner der Wagenräder und dem Dröhnen des Gāṇḍīva-Bogens, erbebte die Erde selbst. Der Vers steigert die moralische Wucht der Szene: Das Auftreten des gerechten Kriegers ist nicht bloß persönliche Kunst, sondern eine weltbewegende Kraft, die anzeigt, dass sich das Geschick gegen die Unterdrückung wendet.

Word by Word

तस्यof him/its

षड्मुखस्यof the six-faced one (Skanda/Kārttikeya)

शब्देनby/with the sound

रथनेमिस्वनेनby/with the rattling sound of the chariot-wheels

चand

गाण्डीवस्यof Gāṇḍīva (Arjuna's bow)

चand

घोषेणby/with the roar/twang

पृथिवीthe earth

समकम्पतshook/trembled

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Gāṇḍīva (Arjuna’s bow)

chariot (ratha)

earth (pṛthivī)

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 conveys that when dharma-backed strength manifests, it carries a world-shaking moral weight. The imagery of the earth trembling suggests that righteous action, especially against injustice, is not trivial—it alters the balance of events and compels recognition.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator describes an overwhelming martial soundscape—an imposing figure’s cry (ṣaḍmukha), the rumble of chariot wheels, and the booming of the Gāṇḍīva bow—so intense that it is portrayed as making the earth tremble, signaling the arrival or assertion of decisive warrior power.