Shloka 30

Adhyāya 104 — Śikhaṇḍin-puraskāraḥ (Śikhaṇḍin as Vanguard) and Bhīṣma’s Counter-Advance

Devanagari script

आर्जुनि: समरे सैन्यं तावकं सम्ममर्द ह | मदान्धो गन्धनागेन्द्र: सपड्मां पिशेनीमिव

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | arjuniḥ samare sainyaṃ tāvakaṃ sammamarda ha | madāndho gandhanāgendraḥ sapadmāṃ puṣkariṇīm iva |

Translation

Sañjaya said: In the thick of battle, Arjuni—Abhimanyu, the son of Arjuna—began to crush your army. Like a fragrance-laden, rut-maddened lord of elephants churning a lotus-filled lake, he violently broke through the ranks, displaying the fierce momentum of a warrior trained in dharma yet compelled by the necessities of war.

Word by Word

• आर्जुनिः: Arjuna’s son (Abhimanyu)
• आर्जुनिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आर्जुनि (अर्जुन-अपत्य/वंशज)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• समरे: in battle
• समरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समर
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• सैन्यम्: army
• सैन्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सैन्य
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तावकम्: your (belonging to you)
• तावकम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तावक
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• सम्ममर्द: crushed, pounded
• सम्ममर्द: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: मृद् (मर्दने) with सम्-
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• ह: indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ह

• मदान्धः: blinded by rut/intoxication
• मदान्धः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मदान्ध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• गन्धनागेन्द्रः: the fragrant lord of elephants
• गन्धनागेन्द्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गन्ध-नागेन्द्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सपद्माम्: with lotuses
• सपद्माम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स-पद्म (पद्म)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• पुष्करिणीम्: a lotus-pond
• पुष्करिणीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुष्करिणी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• इव: like, as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Abhimanyu (Arjuniḥ)
• Arjuna (implied by patronymic)
• Kaurava army (tāvakaṃ sainyam)
• Elephant-king (gandhanāgendraḥ)
• Lotus-pond (puṣkariṇī) with lotuses (padma)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma in its narrative form: disciplined martial prowess used decisively in war. Ethically, it underscores how duty-driven combat can be portrayed as forceful yet purposeful, framed through poetic imagery rather than moral celebration of violence for its own sake.

What is happening in the narrative?

After a māyā-based (deceptive/illusory) fighter is overcome (as indicated by the accompanying Hindi gloss), Abhimanyu immediately begins to rout and crush the Kaurava forces on the battlefield, compared to a rut-maddened elephant churning a lotus-filled pond.