Shloka 93

अर्जुनस्य शीघ्रप्रयाणं भीम-शकुनियुद्धं च

Arjuna’s Rapid Advance and the Bhīma–Śakuni Encounter

Devanagari script

युद्धशौण्डौ समाहूतावागतौ तौ रणाध्वरम्‌

Transliteration

yuddhaśauṇḍau samāhūtāv āgatau tau raṇādhvaram

Translation

Sañjaya said: Those two, famed for prowess in battle, having been summoned, came to the battlefield—like participants arriving at a solemn war-sacrifice—ready to fulfill the grim duty the conflict demanded.

Word by Word

• युद्धशौण्डौ: two valiant in battle / battle-experts
• युद्धशौण्डौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: युद्धशौण्ड (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• समाहूतौ: having been summoned / called together
• समाहूतौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम्-आ-हू (धातु) → समाहूत (कृदन्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• आगतौ: having come / arrived
• आगतौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ-गम् (धातु) → आगत (कृदन्त)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• तौ: those two
• तौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• रणाध्वरम्: the battle-sacrifice (i.e., the battlefield/war as a sacrifice)
• रणाध्वरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रणाध्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• रणाध्वर (battlefield, conceived as a war-sacrifice)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse frames warfare through the metaphor of a sacrifice (adhvara), suggesting that for kṣatriyas the battlefield is a solemn arena of duty where courage and obligation are enacted—yet with an implicit ethical weight, since this ‘sacrifice’ consumes lives rather than offerings.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that two battle-eager warriors, having been summoned, arrive at the battlefield, indicating the immediate mobilization of key fighters and the escalation of the conflict.