Mahabharata — Virata Parva, Shloka 18

अध्याय ५०: उत्तरेण सह अर्जुनस्य रथप्रयाणे ध्वजचिह्नैः कौरवसेनानिर्देशः

Arjuna directs Uttara by identifying Kaurava commanders through banners

Devanagari script

यं यमेषो5तिसंक्रुद्धः संग्रामे निपतिष्यति । वृक्ष गरुत्मान्‌ वेगेन विनिहत्य तमेष्यति

Transliteration

yaṃ yameṣo ’tisaṃkruddhaḥ saṃgrāme nipatiṣyati | vṛkṣaṃ garutmān vegena vinihatya tameṣyati ||

Translation

Kripa said: “Whomever that Yameṣa—Arjuna—furiously charges upon in battle, he will strike down with sheer speed and move on. Just as Garuḍa, alighting on a tree, breaks it by his momentum and then flies onward, so will Arjuna, inflamed with wrath, destroy each great chariot-warrior he assails and advance without pause.”

Word by Word

• यम्: whom
• यम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• यमेषः: Yama-like lord (Death-like one)
• यमेषः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: यमेष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अतिसंक्रुद्धः: exceedingly enraged
• अतिसंक्रुद्धः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अतिसंक्रुद्ध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• संग्रामे: in battle
• संग्रामे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संग्राम
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• निपतिष्यति: will fall upon / will attack
• Type: Verb
• Root: पत्
• Form: Simple Future (Luṭ), 3rd, Singular

• वृक्षम्: a tree
• वृक्षम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• गरुत्मान्: Garuḍa
• गरुत्मान्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गरुत्मत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वेगेन: with speed
• वेगेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वेग
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• विनिहत्य: having struck down
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: Absolutive (Ktva/Lyap), Parasmaipada (usage)

• तम्: him/that one
• तम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• एष्यति: will go / will proceed
• Type: Verb
• Root: इ
• Form: Simple Future (Luṭ), 3rd, Singular

Speaker

कृप उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Kṛpa
• Arjuna
• Yama
• Garuḍa
• tree (vṛkṣa)
• battlefield (saṃgrāma)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the terrifying momentum of a warrior driven by righteous battle-fury: once set in motion, he does not linger but removes obstacles decisively. Ethically, it also warns that uncontrolled wrath in war becomes death-like, turning the fighter into an instrument of inevitable destruction.

What is happening in the narrative?

Kṛpa is describing (and implicitly cautioning about) Arjuna’s battlefield effectiveness: when Arjuna becomes intensely angry, he will attack successive great chariot-warriors, destroy them, and press forward—likened to Garuḍa breaking trees as he lands and then flying on.