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Shloka 19

अभिमन्यु-पराक्रमवर्णनम्

Abhimanyu’s Prowess and the Duḥśāsana Engagement

ज्याशब्द: शुश्रुवे तस्य तलशब्दश्न दारुण: । महाशनिमुच: काले पयोदस्येव नि:स्वनः,उसके धनुषकी प्रत्यंचा और हथेलीका शब्द वर्षाकालमें महान्‌ वज्र गिरानेवाले मेघकी गर्जनाके समान भयंकर सुनायी पड़ता था

jyāśabdaḥ śuśruve tasya talaśabdaś ca dāruṇaḥ | mahāśanimucaḥ kāle payodasyeva niḥsvanaḥ ||

Sañjaya dit : On entendit le claquement de sa corde, et aussi le rude choc de sa paume—terrifiant, tel le grondement d’un nuage de pluie au temps où il lance de grands éclairs. Dans l’atmosphère morale de la guerre, ce son fait office de présage d’une force martiale irrésistible, annonçant la montée de la violence qui submerge la retenue et éprouve l’attachement des guerriers au kṣatriya-dharma.

ज्याशब्दःthe sound of the bowstring
ज्याशब्दः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootज्याशब्द
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
शुश्रुवेwas heard
शुश्रुवे:
TypeVerb
Rootश्रु
FormPerfect (Paroksha), 3rd, Singular, Atmanepada
तस्यof him / his
तस्य:
Sambandha
TypePronoun
Rootतद्
FormMasculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular
तलशब्दश्चand the sound of the palm (slap/hand)
तलशब्दश्च:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootतलशब्द
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
दारुणःterrible, dreadful
दारुणः:
TypeAdjective
Rootदारुण
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular
महाशनिमुचःof the great thunderbolt-releaser (cloud)
महाशनिमुचः:
Sambandha
TypeNoun
Rootमहाशनिमुच्
FormMasculine, Genitive, Singular
कालेin the season/time (rainy season)
काले:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootकाल
FormMasculine, Locative, Singular
पयोदस्यof a rain-cloud
पयोदस्य:
Sambandha
TypeNoun
Rootपयोद
FormMasculine, Genitive, Singular
इवlike, as
इव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootइव
निःस्वनःroar, loud sound
निःस्वनः:
Karta
TypeNoun
Rootनिःस्वन
FormMasculine, Nominative, Singular

संजय उवाच

S
Sañjaya
B
bowstring (jyā)
P
palm/hand (tala)
R
rain-cloud (payoda)

Educational Q&A

The verse underscores how war magnifies signs of power and intimidation: the hero’s very sounds become ‘thunder,’ reminding readers that kṣatriya-dharma involves formidable prowess, yet such prowess also signals the grave ethical weight of violence and the approaching suffering it unleashes.

Sañjaya describes the terrifying sounds produced by a warrior—his bowstring’s twang and the clap of his palm—comparing them to the roaring of a rain-cloud that releases great lightning, thereby heightening the battlefield tension and foreshadowing fierce combat.