Shloka 30

Devanagari script

न मादृशो यो नरदेव विद्यते धनुर्धरो देवमृते पिनाकिनम्‌

Transliteration

na mādṛśo yo naradeva vidyate dhanurdharo devamṛte pinākinam

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O king, there is no archer like me among men—except the god Pinākin (Śiva) himself.”

Word by Word

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• मादृशः: one like me
• मादृशः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मादृश
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• यः: who
• यः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नरदेवः: king (god among men)
• नरदेवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरदेव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• विद्यते: exists / is found
• Type: Verb
• Root: विद् (विद्/विद्-धातु in sense 'to exist' via √विद्/√विद् with middle 'vidyate')
• Form: Present, Third, Singular, Atmanepada

• धनुर्धरः: bow-bearer, archer
• धनुर्धरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुर्धर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• देवम्: the god
• देवम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: देव
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• ऋते: except / without
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ऋते

• पिनाकिनम्: Pinākin (Śiva, bearer of the bow Pināka)
• पिनाकिनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पिनाकिन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• naradeva (the king, i.e., Dhṛtarāṣṭra as addressee)
• Pinākin (Śiva)
• Pināka (Śiva’s bow)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how martial confidence in war can escalate into self-exaltation: measuring oneself against all humans and conceding superiority only to Śiva underscores both the heroic ideal and the ethical danger of pride (mada) that can cloud judgment and invite downfall.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Sañjaya’s report to the king, a warrior’s prowess is being proclaimed in the midst of the Karṇa Parva battles. The speaker claims unmatched skill with the bow among mortals, acknowledging only Pinākin (Śiva) as superior, thereby intensifying the dramatic stakes of the combat.