Shloka 7

कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke

Devanagari script

सायुधान्‌ सतत्॒त्रांश्व॒ पञ्चास्योरगसंनिभान्‌ । बाहुन्‌ क्षुरैरमित्राणां चिच्छेद समरे<र्जुन:

Transliteration

sāyudhān satattrāṁś ca pañcāsyoragasaṁnibhān | bāhūn kṣuraiḥ amitrāṇāṁ ciccheda samare 'rjunaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Au cœur du combat, Arjuna, avec des armes au tranchant de rasoir, trancha les bras des ennemis—des bras armés, toujours prêts, semblables à des serpents à cinq capuchons.

Word by Word

• {'sāyudhān': 'bearing weapons

• armed', 'satattrān (satata-trān)': 'ever-ready

• constantly prepared (for action)', 'pañcāsya': 'five-mouthed/five-faced

• (used of a serpent with five hoods)', 'uraga': 'serpent', 'saṁnibha': 'resembling

• like', 'bāhūn': 'arms', 'kṣuraiḥ': 'with razors/razor-edged blades

• with sharp cutting weapons', 'amitrāṇām': 'of enemies', 'ciccheda': 'cut off

• severed', 'samare': 'in battle', 'arjunaḥ': 'Arjuna'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Arjuna
• enemy warriors (amitrāḥ)
• arms (bāhūḥ)
• razor-edged blades/weapons (kṣura)
• battlefield (samara)
• five-hooded serpent (pañcāsyoraga) (simile)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a battlefield ethic of neutralizing harm by disabling the enemy’s capacity for violence (their weapon-bearing arms). It also reflects the grim duty of a kṣatriya in war: decisive action taken to protect one’s side, even when the means are severe.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes Arjuna’s prowess in combat: using sharp blades, he cuts off the enemies’ armed arms, likening those arms to five-hooded serpents—an image that conveys both their menace and Arjuna’s ability to overcome it.