Shloka 13

Devanagari script

स विस्फार्य धनुर्घोरमिन्द्राशनिसमस्वनम्‌

Transliteration

sa visphārya dhanur ghoraṁ indrāśani-samasvanam

Translation

Sañjaya said: He drew back and fully stretched his dreadful bow, whose sound was like Indra’s thunderbolt—an ominous signal that the battle’s violence was about to intensify.

Word by Word

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

• विस्फार्य: having stretched/strung (having twanged)
• विस्फार्य: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-√स्फुर्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage as gerund), Prior action (having done)

• धनुः: bow
• धनुः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• घोरम्: terrible, dreadful
• घोरम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• इन्द्राशनि-सम-स्वनम्: having a sound like Indra's thunderbolt (thunder-like)
• इन्द्राशनि-सम-स्वनम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: इन्द्राशनि + सम + स्वन
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• bow (dhanuḥ)
• Indra
• Indra’s thunderbolt (indrāśani)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how power is communicated not only through action but through signs that affect morale—here, the thunder-like twang of a bow functions as intimidation and a portent of intensified conflict, reminding readers that war amplifies fear and suffering beyond the immediate strike.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a warrior (identified from the surrounding verses) drawing and fully stretching his formidable bow; its sound is compared to Indra’s thunderbolt, signaling readiness to unleash deadly force and heightening the battlefield’s tension.