Shloka 8

Devanagari script

सकीलकवचा: सर्वे वासीवृक्षादनान्विता: । व्याप्रचर्मपरीवारा द्वीपिचर्मावृताश्च ते,वे सब वीर अनुकर्ष (रथकी मरम्मतके लिये उसके नीचे बाँधा हुआ काष्ठ), तरकस, वरूथ (रथको ढकनेका बाघ आदिका चमड़ा), उपासंग (जिन्हें हाथी या घोड़े उठा सकें, ऐसे तरकस), तोमर, शक्ति, निषंग (पैदलों-द्वारा ले जाये जानेवाले तरकस), ऋष्टि (एक प्रकारकी लोहेकी लाठी), ध्वजा, पताका, धनुष-बाण, तरह-तरहकी रस्सियाँ, पाश, बिस्तर, कचग्रह-विक्षेप (बाल पकड़कर गिरानेका यन्त्र), तेल, गुड़, बालू, विषधर सर्पोंके घड़े, रालका चूरा, घण्टफलक ([घुँघचुरुओंवाली ढाल), खड्गादि लोहेके शस्त्र, औंटा हुआ गुड़का पानी, ढेले, साल, भिन्दिपाल (गोफियाँ), मोम चुपड़े हुए मुद्गर, काँटीदार लाठियाँ, हल विष लगे हुए बाण, सूप तथा टोकरियाँ, दरात, अंकुश, तोमर, काँटेदार कवच, बसूले, आरे आदि, बाघ और गैंड़ेके चमड़ेसे मढ़े हुए रथ, ऋष्टि, सींग, प्रास, भाँति-भाँतिके आयुध कुठार, कुदाल, तेलमें भींगे हुए रेशमी वस्त्र तथा घी लिये हुए थे

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca |

sa-kīlaka-vacāḥ sarve vāsī-vṛkṣa-danānvitāḥ |

vyāghra-carma-parīvārā dvīpi-carmāvṛtāś ca te ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: All of them were equipped with protective fittings and fastenings, furnished with axes and other implements for cutting wood, and supplied with various tools. Their chariots and gear were surrounded with tiger-hide coverings and were also wrapped in leopard-skins—signs of full martial readiness and the grim resolve that precedes war.

Word by Word

सकीलकवचाःhaving (protective) कवच with wooden pins/blocks (i.e., well-fastened armor)

सर्वेall

वासीवृक्षादनान्विताःequipped with adana (implements) such as adzes/axes and tree-cutting tools

व्याघ्रचर्मपरीवाराःhaving coverings/outer-gear of tiger-skin

द्वीपिचर्मावृताःcovered with leopard-skin

चand

तेthey

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

kīlaka (pegs/fastenings)

vāsī (axe/adze)

vṛkṣa-dana (wood-cutting tools)

vyāghra-carma (tiger-skin coverings)

dvīpi-carma (leopard-skin coverings)

chariots/war-gear (implied by coverings and fittings)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the inevitability and gravity of armed conflict once mobilization is complete: when forces are fully equipped and protected, the momentum toward battle increases, highlighting the ethical urgency of timely diplomacy before preparations harden into violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes troops and their equipment in a state of readiness—tools, fittings, and protective hide coverings—depicting the logistical and material preparations that accompany the march toward the Kurukṣetra war.