Shloka 5

Devanagari script

सो<पेतवर्मा पुत्रस्ते विरराज भृशं नृप । उत्सृज्य काले राजेन्द्र निर्मोकमिव पन्नग:,नरेश्वर! राजेन्द्र! कवच कट जानेपर आपका पुत्र चित्रसेन समयपर केंचुल छोड़नेवाले सर्पके समान अत्यन्त सुशोभित हुआ

Transliteration

so 'petavarmā putras te virarāja bhṛśaṃ nṛpa | utsṛjya kāle rājendra nirmokam iva pannagaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: O king, your son—Citrāsena (Apetavarmā)—shone exceedingly. At the proper moment, O lord of kings, he cast off his armour like a serpent shedding its slough, as though shifting deliberately from protection to decisive action amid the war’s pressure.

Word by Word

सःhe/that (person)

अपेतवर्माwhose armor has been removed (unarmored)

पुत्रःson

तेof you/your

विरराजshone forth, was splendid

भृशम्exceedingly, greatly

नृपO king

उत्सृज्यhaving cast off, having discarded

कालेat the proper time

राजेन्द्रO king of kings

निर्मोकम्slough, cast-off skin

इवlike, as if

पन्नगःsnake

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

the king (Dhṛtarāṣṭra, implied by address nṛpa/rājendra)

Apetavarmā (the king’s son, as named here)

armour (kavaca, implied by context)

serpent (pannaga)

slough/shed skin (nirmoka)

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 highlights kāla—acting at the proper time. The simile of a serpent shedding its skin suggests purposeful change: discarding what has become limiting and adopting the right posture for the moment, a key ethical-pragmatic value in epic warfare and leadership.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the king that his son becomes strikingly resplendent, described as casting off armour at the right moment, like a serpent shedding its slough—an image of readiness and a decisive turn in the unfolding battle scene.