Shloka 16

Āraṇyaka-parva, Adhyāya 17 — Śālva’s encampment and the Yādava counter-engagement at Dvārakā

Devanagari script

इस प्रकार श्रीमह्याभारत वनपर्वके अन्तर्गत अर्जुनाथिगमनपर्वमें सौभवधोपाख्यानविषयक सोलहवाँ अध्याय पूरा हुआ,तमापतन्तं बाणौघं स चिच्छेद महाबल: । ततश्चान्याछ्छरान्‌ दीप्तान्‌ प्रचिक्षेप सुते मम महाबली प्रद्युम्नने उन बाणोंको आते ही काट गिराया। तत्पश्चात्‌ शाल्वने मेरे पुत्रपर और भी बहुत-से प्रज्वलित बाण छोड़े

Transliteration

tam āpatantaṃ bāṇaughaṃ sa ciccheda mahābalaḥ | tataś cānyāñ charān dīptān pracikṣepa sute mama ||

Translation

Cuando aquella densa andanada de flechas se precipitó, el poderoso guerrero la cercenó en pleno vuelo. Luego arrojó otros dardos ardientes contra mi hijo, intensificando el combate. La escena subraya la ética del kṣatriya: firmeza bajo el ataque y represalia medida dentro de las reglas de la guerra, donde la destreza y el dominio de sí se ponen a prueba en medio de una violencia creciente.

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'āpatantam', 'definition': 'coming/falling upon

• rushing toward (accusative singular, present participle)'}, {'term': 'bāṇaugham', 'definition': 'a flood/stream/volley of arrows'}, {'term': 'ciccheda', 'definition': 'cut, severed, broke (perfect of √chid)'}, {'term': 'mahābalaḥ / mahābalī', 'definition': 'one of great strength

• a mighty warrior'}, {'term': 'tataḥ', 'definition': 'then

• thereafter'}, {'term': 'anyān', 'definition': 'other

• additional (arrows)'}, {'term': 'śarān', 'definition': 'arrows'}, {'term': 'dīptān', 'definition': 'blazing, flaming, radiant (often implying fire-tipped or shining weapons)'}, {'term': 'pracikṣepa', 'definition': 'threw, launched, discharged (aorist of √kṣip with pra-)'}, {'term': 'sute mama', 'definition': "upon my son (locative sense implied by context

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāyudeva
• Pradyumna
• Śālva
• bāṇa (arrows)
• bāṇaugha (volley of arrows)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage highlights kṣatriya-dharma in practice: meeting aggression with alertness, skill, and composure. Cutting down an incoming volley symbolizes disciplined defense, while the counter-attack suggests controlled retaliation rather than panic—an ethical ideal of steadiness and competence amid conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

A powerful warrior (identified in the surrounding narration as Pradyumna) intercepts and cuts apart a rushing mass of arrows. He then launches additional blazing arrows at the opponent (Śālva), escalating the exchange of missiles in the battle episode.