Shloka 32

Devanagari script

ततो मातलिरारुह्म[ पुरस्तान्निपतन्निव महीमवातरत क्षिप्रं रथेनादित्यवर्चसा,तदनन्तर मातलि आकाशमें ऊँचे चढ़कर सूर्यके समान तेजस्वी रथद्वारा उन राक्षसोंके सामने गिरते हुए-से शीघ्र ही पृथ्वीपर उतरे

Transliteration

tato mātalir āruhya purastān nipatann iva mahīm avātarat kṣipraṃ rathenādityavarcāsā

Translation

Then Mātali, mounting up into the sky, descended swiftly to the earth in his sun-bright chariot, as though falling straight down before the foes.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

मातलिःMātali (Indra's charioteer)

आरुह्यhaving mounted/ascended

पुरस्तात्in front, ahead

निपतन्falling, descending

इवas if, like

महीम्the earth

अवातरात्descended

क्षिप्रम्quickly, swiftly

रथेनby/with the chariot

आदित्यवर्चसाwith sun-like radiance

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Mātali

Arjuna

chariot (ratha)

the earth (mahī)

sky (implied by āruhya/avātarat)

Sun (Āditya, as a simile of radiance)

rākṣasas (as implied by the accompanying Hindi gloss)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Power and divine support are to be directed toward timely, disciplined action in defense of dharma. The swift descent symbolizes decisiveness and responsibility rather than spectacle.

What is happening in the narrative?

Mātali, Indra’s charioteer, rises into the sky and then rapidly descends to the earth in a radiant chariot, arriving directly before the adversaries, setting the stage for imminent confrontation.