Shloka 26

Devanagari script

रथनागाश्वकलिल: पदात्यूमिसमाकुल: । शैनेयवेलामासाद्य स्थित: सैन्यमहार्णव:,रथ, हाथी और घोड़ोंसे भरी तथा पैदलरूपी लहरोंसे व्याप्त हुई आपकी सागर-सदृश सेना सात्यकिरूपी तटभूमिके समीप आकर अवरुद्ध हो गयी

Transliteration

rathanāgāśvakalilaḥ padātyūmisamākulaḥ | śaineyavelām āsādya sthitaḥ sainyamahārṇavaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Your ocean-like army—dense with chariots, elephants, and horses, and heaving with the wave-like masses of infantry—reached the shoreline that was Śaineya (Sātyaki) and there stood checked, its advance obstructed.

Word by Word

रथ-नाग-अश्व-कलिलःdense/filled with chariots, elephants, and horses

पदाति-ऊमि-समाकुलःagitated/filled with foot-soldiers as waves

शैनेय-वेलाम्the shore/bank of Śaineya (Sātyaki)

आसाद्यhaving reached/approached

स्थितःstood; was halted/checked

सैन्य-महा-अर्णवःthe great ocean-like army

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Sātyaki (Śaineya)

chariots

elephants

horses

infantry

army (Kaurava host, addressed as ‘your’)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches, through a powerful simile, that sheer numbers and might can be halted by steadfast resolve aligned with duty: a single principled defender can become a ‘shore’ that limits the surge of an overwhelming force.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the Kaurava host as a vast ocean of chariots, elephants, horses, and infantry. As it advances, it reaches Sātyaki (Śaineya), who functions like a shoreline, stopping and constraining the army’s forward movement.