Shloka 44

Devanagari script

सो<हं नारायणास्त्रेण महता शत्रुतापन: । शत्रून्‌ विध्वंसयिष्यामि कदर्थीकृत्य पाण्डवान्‌,“इस प्रकार शत्रुओंको संताप देनेवाला मैं महान्‌ नारायणास्त्रका प्रयोग करके पाण्डवोंको पीड़ा देता हुआ अपने समस्त शत्रुओंका विध्वंस कर डालूँगा

Transliteration

so ’haṃ nārāyaṇāstreṇa mahatā śatrutāpanaḥ | śatrūn vidhvaṃsayīṣyāmi kadarthīkṛtya pāṇḍavān ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “I, a tormentor of foes, will now employ the mighty Nārāyaṇa-weapon; humiliating and afflicting the Pāṇḍavas, I shall destroy all my enemies.”

Word by Word

सःhe / that (I as that)

अहम्I

नारायणास्त्रेणwith the Nārāyaṇa-weapon

महताgreat, mighty

शत्रुतापनःtormenter of enemies

शत्रून्enemies

विध्वंसयिष्यामिI will destroy

कदर्थीकृत्यhaving humiliated / having caused distress to

पाण्डवान्the Pāṇḍavas

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Pāṇḍavas

Nārāyaṇa-āstra (Nārāyaṇa weapon)

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 the moral peril of seeking victory through overwhelming, quasi-divine force: the speaker’s intent to “humiliate and destroy” underscores how anger and pride can drive escalation beyond proportional warfare, inviting reflection on restraint (dama) and the ethical limits of astras.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a combatant’s vow to unleash the mighty Nārāyaṇa-astra against the Pāṇḍavas, aiming to crush and disgrace them and thereby eliminate his enemies—signaling a turning point where celestial weaponry is invoked to decide the battle.