Shloka 10

Chapter 30: Formation Disruption, Competing War-Cries, and Nīla’s Fall

Droṇa-parva

Devanagari script

लब्धलक्ष्यौ तु गान्धारावहतां पाण्डवं पुन: । निदाघवार्षिकौ मासौ लोकं घर्माशुभिर्यथा,जैसे गर्मीके दो महीने सूर्यकी उष्ण किरणोंद्वारा सम्पूर्ण लोकोंको संतप्त करते रहते हैं, उसी प्रकार वे दोनों भाई गान्धारराजकुमार लक्ष्य वेधनेमें सफल होकर पाण्डुपुत्र अर्जुनपर बारंबार आघात करने लगे

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

labdhalakṣyau tu gāndhārāv ahatāṃ pāṇḍavaṃ punaḥ |

nidāghavārṣikau māsau lokaṃ gharma-aśubhir yathā ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Les deux princes du Gandhāra, ayant trouvé leur cible, frappèrent sans cesse le fils de Pāṇḍu ; tels deux mois d’été et la saison des pluies qui, par leur chaleur accablante et leurs rigueurs, tourmentent le monde entier.

Word by Word

लब्धलक्ष्यौhaving obtained the aim / having hit the mark

तुbut/indeed

गान्धारौthe two Gandhāra princes (sons of the Gandhāra king)

अहताम्they struck / smote

पाण्डवम्the Pāṇḍava (Arjuna)

पुनःagain, repeatedly

निदाघवार्षिकौthe two (months), summer and rainy-season

मासौtwo months

लोकम्the world

घर्माशुभिःby inauspicious heats / scorching heats

यथाas, just as

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Gandhara princes (the two Gandharas)

Pandava (Arjuna)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how skilled, repeated aggression in war can become an all-encompassing affliction, likened to seasonal extremes that oppress the world—underscoring the ethical weight of martial power and the suffering it can generate.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports that the two Gandhara princes, now successfully aiming, repeatedly strike Arjuna, comparing their relentless blows to the oppressive impact of harsh seasonal months upon the world.