Shloka 9

Chapter 51: Saṃdhyākāla-saṃhāra

Evening Withdrawal after Arjuna’s Counter-Advance

Devanagari script

स तालकेतोस्तीक्ष्णेन केतुमाहत्य पत्रिणा । भीष्मेण युयुधे वीरस्तस्य चानुरथै: सह,वीर अभिमन्युने तीखे बाणसे उस तालचिह्लित ध्वजको छेद डाला और भीष्म तथा उनके अनुगामी रथियोंके साथ युद्ध आरम्भ कर दिया

Transliteration

sa tālaketostīkṣṇena ketum āhatya patriṇā | bhīṣmeṇa yuyudhe vīras tasya cānurathaiḥ saha ||

Translation

સંજય બોલ્યો—તે વીરએ તીક્ષ્ણ પાંખવાળા બાણથી તાળ-ચિહ્નવાળા ધ્વજને કાપી પાડી દીધો અને પછી ભીષ્મ તથા તેમના અનુગામી રથીઓ સાથે યુદ્ધ કરવા લાગ્યો।

Word by Word

सःhe

तालकेतुःthe one with a palm-tree emblem (Talaketu)

तीक्ष्णेनwith a sharp

केतुम्banner/standard

आहत्यhaving struck/after striking

पत्रिणाwith an arrow (feathered one)

भीष्मेणwith Bhishma / against Bhishma (instr. of association/opposition)

युयुधेfought

वीरःthe hero

तस्यof him/of that (Bhishma)

चand

अनुरथैःwith the following/attendant charioteers

सहtogether with

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhīṣma

tāla-ketu (palm-tree-emblazoned banner/standard)

ketu (banner/standard)

patriṇ (feathered arrow)

anurathāḥ (supporting chariot-warriors)

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 the warrior ideal of steadfast courage and tactical focus in battle: disabling an opponent’s emblem (banner) is both a strategic act and a symbolic challenge, undertaken while still recognizing the gravity of fighting a revered elder like Bhīṣma under the constraints of kṣatriya-duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a hero striking down the palm-tree-marked banner with a sharp feathered arrow, then commencing direct combat with Bhīṣma and also facing Bhīṣma’s accompanying chariot-warriors (his supporting retinue).