Shloka 25

Devanagari script

ते बद्धा: पादबन्धेन पाण्डवेन महात्मना । निश्चेणठ क्षाभवन्‌ राजन्नश्मसारमया इव,राजन! उन महात्मा पाण्डुपुत्र अर्जुनके द्वारा पैर बाँध दिये जानेके कारण वे संशप्तक योद्धा लोहेके बने हुए पुतलोंके समान निश्चेष्ट हो गये

Transliteration

te baddhāḥ pādabandhena pāṇḍavena mahātmanā | niśceṣṭā abhavan rājann aśmasāramayā iva ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: O King, those warriors, their feet bound by the great-souled Pāṇḍava, became utterly motionless—like figures fashioned of stone and iron.

Word by Word

तेthey (those)

बद्धाःbound, tied

पादबन्धेनby the binding of the feet / by a foot-bond

पाण्डवेनby the Pandava (Arjuna)

महात्मनाby the great-souled one

निश्चेष्टाःmotionless, inactive

अभवन्became, were

राजन्O king

अश्मसारमयाःmade of stone/iron (lit. stone-essence)

इवlike, as if

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

स

संजय (Sañjaya)

र

राजन् (Dhṛtarāṣṭra, implied by address)

प

पाण्डव (Pāṇḍava—Arjuna in context)

स

संशप्तक (Saṁśaptaka warriors, implied by context/annotation)

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 how mastery in battle and steadfast resolve can neutralize even determined foes; it also reflects the Mahābhārata’s ethical tension where prowess, strategy, and dharma-driven purpose shape outcomes in war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the king that the opposing warriors were effectively immobilized because the great Pāṇḍava (Arjuna) bound their feet, leaving them as motionless as stone-and-iron effigies.