Shloka 6

Devanagari script

यावन्न शातयत्याजी शिरांसि गजयोधिनाम्‌ | गदया वीरघातिन्या फलानीव वनस्पते:

Transliteration

yāvan na śātayaty ājau śirāṃsi gajayodhinām | gadayā vīraghātinyā phalānīva vanaspateḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “So long as, on the battlefield, he does not shatter the heads of the elephant-warriors with his mace—deadly to heroes—like fruits falling from a tree.”

Word by Word

• यावत्: as long as / until
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यावत्
• Form: correlative adverb (yāvat–tāvat construction implied)

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न
• Form: negation particle

• शातयति: shatters / breaks / smashes
• Type: Verb
• Root: शत् (शातयति)
• Form: present (laṭ), parasmaipada, 3rd person singular

• अजी: in battle
• अजी: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अजि
• Form: masculine, locative singular

• शिरांसि: heads
• शिरांसि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस्
• Form: neuter, accusative plural

• गज: of elephants
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज
• Form: masculine, genitive plural (as first member in compound)

• योधिनाम्: of warriors
• Type: Noun
• Root: योधिन्
• Form: masculine, genitive plural

• गदया: with a mace
• गदया: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गदा
• Form: feminine, instrumental singular

• वीरघातिन्या: by the hero-slaying (mace)
• वीरघातिन्या: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वीरघातिनी
• Form: feminine, instrumental singular

• फलानि: fruits
• फलानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: फल
• Form: neuter, accusative plural

• इव: like / as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव
• Form: particle of comparison

• वनस्पतेः: from a tree
• वनस्पतेः: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वनस्पति
• Form: masculine, ablative singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• gadayā (mace)
• gajayodhinaḥ (elephant-warriors)
• vanaspati (tree)
• phalāni (fruits)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse intensifies the martial ideal of decisive action in battle: a warrior’s prowess is portrayed as uncompromising and effective, using vivid simile to underscore the inevitability of destruction once force is unleashed.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a battlefield scene in which a hero, wielding a mace, is envisioned crushing the heads of elephant-mounted fighters; the comparison to fruits dropping from a tree conveys speed, ease, and overwhelming power.