Shloka 30

Saubhadra under Concentrated Assault; Pārṣata’s Intervention and Escalation

Devanagari script

ततः स विपुलं चर्म शतचन्द्रं च भानुमत्‌ । खडूगं च विपुलं दिव्यं प्रगृह्ा सुभुजो बली

Transliteration

tataḥ sa vipulaṃ carma śatacandraṃ ca bhānumat | khaḍgaṃ ca vipulaṃ divyaṃ pragṛhya subhujo balī |

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then the mighty, strong-armed warrior seized a broad shield, radiant and adorned with a hundred moon-like bosses, and also a large, divine sword. Intent on slaying Droṇa, he rushed upon him with great speed—like a lion, craving flesh, charging in the forest at a rut-maddened elephant.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• विपुलम्: large, broad
• विपुलम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विपुल
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• चर्म: shield (leather)
• चर्म: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: चर्मन्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• शतचन्द्रम्: having a hundred moon-discs (ornamented with 100 crescents)
• शतचन्द्रम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शतचन्द्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• भानुमत्: shining, radiant
• भानुमत्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भानुमत्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• खड्गम्: sword
• खड्गम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: खड्ग
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• विपुलम्: large, broad
• विपुलम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विपुल
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• दिव्यम्: divine, splendid
• दिव्यम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दिव्य
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• प्रगृह्य: having taken, grasping
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral here)

• सुभुजः: having beautiful arms
• सुभुजः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुभुज
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• बली: strong, mighty
• बली: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बलिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Droṇa
• shield (carma)
• sword (khaḍga)
• lion (siṃha, implied by simile)
• elephant (hastin, implied by simile)
• forest (vana, implied by simile)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights unwavering resolve and martial preparedness in war, showing how intent (here, the determination to kill Droṇa) drives action. Ethically, it reflects the harsh framework of battlefield duty (kṣatriya-dharma), where decisive aggression is portrayed through a naturalistic simile (lion vs. elephant) to convey inevitability and ferocity.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a warrior taking up a large, radiant shield and a divine sword and charging swiftly at Droṇa with the aim of killing him, compared to a lion attacking a musth elephant in the forest.