Shloka 17

Devanagari script

ततः सर्वायुधाभावे वीक्षमाणस्ततस्तत:

Transliteration

tataḥ sarvāyudhābhāve vīkṣamāṇas tatas tataḥ

Translation

Then, finding himself without any weapons at all, he kept looking about—here and there—seeking some means to act amid the peril and confusion of the moment.

Word by Word

• ततः: then; thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात्)
• Form: अव्यय (अपादान/अधिकरण-भावे प्रयुक्तम्)

• सर्वायुधाभावे: in the absence of all weapons
• सर्वायुधाभावे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सर्वायुधाभाव (प्रातिपदिकम्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• वीक्षमाणः: looking; observing
• वीक्षमाणः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: वीक्ष् (धातु) → वीक्षमाण (वर्तमानकाले शतृ-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन (वर्तमानकाले कर्तरि शतृ)

• ततः: then; from there
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात्)
• Form: अव्यय

• ततः: then; again/thereupon
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात्)
• Form: अव्यय

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• weapons (āyudha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the vulnerability that follows reliance on external power: when weapons and supports fail, one is forced into anxious searching. In the Sauptika context, it underscores how war reduces people to desperate improvisation, raising ethical tension about what actions are taken when restraint and resources are gone.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates that the person in focus has become weaponless and is scanning in all directions, trying to find a way forward. The line conveys urgency and disorientation, setting up the next action taken in the unfolding night-time events of the Sauptika Parva.