Shloka 48

अर्जुनस्य सैन्धवाभिमुखगमनम् तथा विन्दानुविन्दयोर्वधः

Arjuna’s advance toward Saindhava and the fall of Vinda–Anuvinda

Devanagari script

असुरसुरमनुष्या: पक्षिणो वोरगा वा पितृरजनिचरा वा ब्रह्म॒देवर्षयो वा । चरमचरमपीद यत्परं चापि तस्मात्‌ तदपि ममरिपु त॑ रक्षितुं नैव शक्ता:,देवता, असुर, मनुष्य, पक्षी, नाग, पितर, निशाचर, ब्रह्मर्षि, देवर्षि, यह चराचर जगत्‌ तथा इसके परे जो कुछ है, वह--ये सब मिलकर भी मेरे शत्रु जयद्रथकी रक्षा नहीं कर सकते

Transliteration

asurasuramanusyāḥ pakṣiṇo voragā vā pitṛrajanicarā vā brahmadevarṣayo vā | caramacaram apīdaṃ yat paraṃ cāpi tasmāt tad api mama ripuṃ taṃ rakṣituṃ naiva śaktāḥ ||

Translation

Arjuna dit : «Qu’ils soient Asuras ou Devas, hommes, oiseaux ou serpents ; qu’ils soient les Pitṛs ou les esprits rôdeurs de la nuit ; qu’ils soient Brahmarṣis ou Devarṣis—oui, même tout ce qui est mobile et immobile en ce monde, et tout ce qui se trouve au-delà, aucun d’eux, fût-ce réunis, n’a le pouvoir de protéger mon ennemi Jayadratha.»

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'asura', 'definition': 'anti-god, demonic power

• adversarial cosmic force'}, {'term': 'sura (deva)', 'definition': 'god, divine being'}, {'term': 'manuṣya', 'definition': 'human being'}, {'term': 'pakṣiṇ', 'definition': 'bird

• winged creature'}, {'term': 'uraga', 'definition': 'serpent

• snake (lit. ‘goer on the chest/belly’)'}, {'term': 'pitṛ', 'definition': 'ancestral spirits

• forefathers'}, {'term': 'rajanicara', 'definition': 'night-wanderer

• nocturnal being (often rākṣasa/piśāca type)'}, {'term': 'brahmarṣi', 'definition': 'sage of the highest order

• seer established in Brahman'}, {'term': 'devarṣi', 'definition': 'divine sage (e.g., Nārada-type seers)'}, {'term': 'cara-acara', 'definition': 'the moving and the unmoving

• all living and non-living creation'}, {'term': 'paraṃ tasmāt', 'definition': 'beyond that

• transcending even the manifest world'}, {'term': 'ripu', 'definition': 'enemy, foe'}, {'term': 'rakṣitum', 'definition': 'to protect, to guard'}, {'term': 'naiva śaktāḥ', 'definition': 'are not at all able

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• Jayadratha
• Devas (Suras)
• Asuras
• Humans
• Birds
• Serpents (Nāgas/Uraga)
• Pitṛs (ancestors)
• Rajanicaras (night-roaming beings)
• Brahmarṣis
• Devarṣis

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the force of unwavering resolve aligned with a vowed purpose in a dharma-war context: when a warrior’s determination is fixed on just retribution, even vast alliances and cosmic categories are portrayed as powerless to avert the destined outcome.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Drona Parva’s battle sequence, Arjuna is pursuing Jayadratha with a fierce vow to slay him. Here Arjuna declares that no being—divine, demonic, human, or otherwise, including sages and even the totality of the moving and unmoving world—can protect Jayadratha from him.