Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 46

Gadāyuddhe Kṛṣṇopadeśaḥ (Kṛṣṇa’s Counsel in the Mace-Duel) — Śalya-parva 57

Devanagari script

ततो गुरुतरां दीप्तां गदां हेमपरिष्कृताम्‌

Transliteration

tato gurutarāṃ dīptāṃ gadāṃ hemapariṣkṛtām

Translation

Then he took up a heavier, blazing mace, richly adorned with gold.

Word by Word

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

• गुरुतराम्: heavier; very heavy
• गुरुतराम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गुरु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन (तुलनात्मक-तम/तर-प्रत्यय: गुरुतर-)

• दीप्ताम्: blazing; shining
• दीप्ताम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दीप्त (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक; √दीप्)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• गदाम्: mace
• गदाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

• हेमपरिष्कृताम्: adorned/embellished with gold
• हेमपरिष्कृताम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हेम-परिष्कृत (प्रातिपदिक; परिष्कृत = कृदन्त from √कृ with परि-)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, द्वितीया-विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• गदा (mace)
• हेम (gold)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how, in war, intent manifests through choice of means: selecting a heavier, radiant, gold-adorned mace signals a deliberate intensification of combat. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between kṣatriya duty (meeting force with force) and the tragic momentum of violence once escalation begins.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a combatant (implied from context) moving to a more formidable weapon: a heavier mace that gleams and is ornamented with gold, indicating readiness for a decisive exchange in the ongoing battle.