Shloka 18

Devanagari script

घ्नतानयत गृह्नीत विद्धय॒ध्वमवर्कर्तत

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | ghnatānayata gṛhṇīta vidhyadhvam avakartata, atāḍayan raṇe bhīṣmaṃ sahitāḥ sarvasṛñjayāḥ |

Translation

Sanjaya said: “Strike, bring them down, seize them, pierce them, and cut them to pieces!” Thus urged on, all the Sṛñjayas, acting in concert, assailed Bhīṣma on the battlefield from every side, seeking to overwhelm him through relentless blows and wounds.

Word by Word

• {'sañjaya uvāca': 'Sañjaya said', 'ghnatā': "strike/kill (imperative sense: 'strike!')", 'ānayata': 'bring (them) here/bring down (imperative)', 'gṛhṇīta': 'seize, capture (imperative)', 'vidhyadhvam': 'pierce, wound (2nd pl. imperative)', 'avakartata': 'cut down, sever (imperative)', 'atāḍayan': 'they struck, beat, assailed', 'raṇe': 'in battle, on the battlefield', 'bhīṣmam': 'Bhīṣma', 'sahitāḥ': 'together, united, in concert', 'sarva-sṛñjayāḥ': 'all the Sṛñjayas (the Pāṇḍava-aligned warriors of the Sṛñjaya line)'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhīṣma
• Sṛñjayas
• battlefield (raṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the harsh dharma of battlefield conduct: coordinated effort, discipline, and resolve are marshaled to neutralize a powerful opponent. Ethically, it also exposes the Mahābhārata’s tension—duty-driven violence carried out against revered elders, intensifying the moral weight of the war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that the Sṛñjaya warriors, united and urged by commands like “strike, seize, pierce, cut,” attack Bhīṣma from all sides in the battle, attempting to wound and overpower him through sustained assault.