Shloka 18

Devanagari script

अभिद्रवध्वं युध्यध्वं भीष्मं जयत संयुगे | रक्षिता: सत्यसंधेन जिष्णुना रिपुजिष्णुना

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | abhidravadhvaṁ yudhyadhvaṁ bhīṣmaṁ jayata saṁyuge | rakṣitāḥ satyasaṁdhena jiṣṇunā ripujiṣṇunā, rājan |

Translation

संजय बोले—“वीरो! आगे बढ़ो, युद्ध करो और संग्राम में भीष्म पर विजय पाओ। राजन्, तुम सब सत्यप्रतिज्ञ, शत्रुविजयी अर्जुन द्वारा सुरक्षित हो।”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'abhidravadhvam', 'gloss': 'rush forward, charge (imperative plural)'}, {'term': 'yudhyadhvam', 'gloss': 'fight (imperative plural, middle voice)'}, {'term': 'bhīṣmam', 'gloss': 'Bhishma (accusative singular)'}, {'term': 'jayata', 'gloss': 'conquer, win over (imperative plural)'}, {'term': 'saṁyuge', 'gloss': 'in battle, in combat (locative singular)'}, {'term': 'rakṣitāḥ', 'gloss': 'protected, guarded (past passive participle, nominative plural)'}, {'term': 'satyasaṁdhena', 'gloss': 'by one firm in truth/pledge

• true to his vow (instrumental singular)'}, {'term': 'jiṣṇunā', 'gloss': 'by the victorious one

• an epithet of Arjuna (instrumental singular)'}, {'term': 'ripujiṣṇunā', 'gloss': 'by the conqueror of enemies (instrumental singular)'}, {'term': 'rājan', 'gloss': 'O King (vocative singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhīṣma
• Arjuna (Jiṣṇu)
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (Rājan)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights martial duty carried out under disciplined leadership: warriors are urged to advance and fight, while ethical strength is grounded in satya-saṁdhi—steadfastness to truth and vows—embodied by Arjuna as a protector whose reliability inspires collective courage.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports battlefield exhortation: the troops are commanded to charge, engage in combat, and seek victory over Bhishma, with confidence that Arjuna—renowned as Jiṣṇu, the enemy-conqueror—stands as their safeguard.