Shloka 24

Devanagari script

असम्भ्रान्तो रथे तिष्ठ समेषु विषमेषु च । दिवमावृत्य तिष्ठन्तं गिरिं भिन्‍्द्यां सम पत्रिभि:

Transliteration

asambhrānto rathe tiṣṭha sameṣu viṣameṣu ca | divam āvṛtya tiṣṭhantaṃ giriṃ bhindyāṃ sama-patribhiḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: “Stand firm upon the chariot, unshaken in mind, whether the ground is even or uneven. With well-aimed, evenly feathered arrows, you should be able to pierce even a mountain that seems to rise and cover the very sky.”

Word by Word

असम्भ्रान्तःunconfused, unshaken

रथेin the chariot

तिष्ठstand; remain

समेषुon level (grounds)

विषमेषुon uneven (grounds)

चand

दिवम्the sky; heaven

आवृत्यhaving covered; enveloping

तिष्ठन्तम्standing; remaining

गिरिम्mountain

भिन्द्याम्I would split; I could pierce

सम्together; completely

पत्रिभिःwith arrows (lit. feathered ones)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

ratha (chariot)

giri (mountain)

diva (sky/heaven)

patra (arrow-feathers/fletching)

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?

Maintain inner steadiness and disciplined focus amid changing conditions; true martial excellence depends on composure and precision, not on favorable terrain.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator frames an exhortation in a martial context: the warrior is urged to remain unshaken on the chariot over both smooth and rough ground, and is praised/encouraged toward such mastery that even a sky-high mountain could be pierced with well-balanced arrows.