Shloka 15

Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)

Devanagari script

तयोर्धनुज्यातलनि:स्वनो महान्‌ महेन्द्रवजञाशनितुल्यनि:स्वन: । परस्परं बाणगणैर्महात्मनो: प्रवर्षतोर्मद्रपपाण्डुवीरयो:

Transliteration

tayor dhanurjyātala-niḥsvano mahān mahendra-vajrāśani-tulya-niḥsvanaḥ | parasparaṃ bāṇa-gaṇair mahātmanoḥ pravarṣator madrapa-pāṇḍu-vīrayoḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Between those two great-souled warriors—the king of Madra and the Pāṇḍava hero—as they showered each other with volleys of arrows, there arose a mighty sound: the twang and clash of their bowstrings, like the thunderous crash of Indra’s thunderbolt.

Word by Word

• तयोः: of those two
• तयोः: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: masculine, genitive, dual

• धनुज्या: bowstring
• धनुज्या: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुज्या
• Form: feminine, nominative, singular

• तल: surface/flat part (of the bow)
• तल: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तल
• Form: neuter, nominative, singular

• निःस्वनः: sound, twang
• निःस्वनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: निःस्वन
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• महान्: great
• महान्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• महेन्द्र: of Mahendra (Indra)
• महेन्द्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: महेन्द्र
• Form: masculine, genitive, singular

• वज्र: with the thunderbolt
• वज्र: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वज्र
• Form: neuter, instrumental, singular

• अशनितुल्य: equal to lightning
• अशनितुल्य: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अशनितुल्य
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• निःस्वनः: sound, roar
• निःस्वनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: निःस्वन
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• परस्परम्: mutually, against each other
• परस्परम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: परस्पर

• बाणगणैः: with multitudes of arrows
• बाणगणैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाणगण
• Form: masculine, instrumental, plural

• महात्मनोः: of the two great-souled ones
• महात्मनोः: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महात्मन्
• Form: masculine, genitive, dual

• प्रवर्षतोः: of the two showering forth
• प्रवर्षतोः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्रवर्षत्
• Form: masculine, genitive, dual

• मद्रप: of the Madra king (Shalya)
• मद्रप: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मद्रप
• Form: masculine, genitive, singular

• पाण्डुवीरयोः: of the two Pāṇḍava heroes
• पाण्डुवीरयोः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डुवीर
• Form: masculine, genitive, dual

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Indra (Mahendra)
• vajra (Indra’s thunderbolt)
• madrapa (Śalya, king of Madra)
• Pāṇḍava warrior (Nakula)
• bows and bowstrings
• arrows (bāṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the gravity and discipline of kṣatriya combat: even amid destructive force, the warriors’ steadfastness and skill are emphasized. The ethical frame is the warrior code—courage, endurance, and resolve—rather than personal malice, conveyed through elevated, cosmic imagery (Indra’s thunderbolt).

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a fierce exchange between the king of Madra (Śalya) and a Pāṇḍava hero (Nakula). As both rain volleys of arrows at each other, the sound of their bows and bowstrings becomes immense, compared to the crash of Indra’s vajra.