Shloka 37

अभिमन्यु-परिवेष्टनम्

Encirclement and Counterassault of Abhimanyu

Devanagari script

आरूढाज्गशिक्षितैर्योधै: शकक्‍्त्यृष्टिप्रासयोधिभि: । विध्वस्तचामरमुखान्‌ विप्रविद्धप्रकीर्णकान्‌

Transliteration

ārūḍāṅgaśikṣitair yodhaiḥ śaktyṛṣṭiprāsayodhibhiḥ | vidhvastacāmaramukhān vipraviddhaprakīrṇakān ||

Translation

संजय बोले—घुड़सवारी में सुशिक्षित, शक्ति-ऋष्टि-प्रास आदि शस्त्रों के प्रयोग में निपुण योद्धाओं ने उन शत्रुओं को, जिनकी अग्रपंक्तियाँ और ध्वज-चामर टूट चुके थे, बेधकर तितर-बितर कर दिया; वे रणकोलाहल में घायल होकर भ्रमित-से इधर-उधर बिखर गए।

Word by Word

आरूढान्mounted, having mounted

अङ्गशिक्षितैःtrained in the use of the body/limbs (well-trained)

योधैःby warriors

शक्त्यृष्टिप्रासयोधिभिःby fighters (armed) with javelins, spears, and lances

विध्वस्तचामरमुखान्whose front/face (or head-ornaments) were shattered; with shattered chāmaras at the front

विप्रविद्धप्रकीर्णकान्pierced and scattered/dispersed

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

warriors (yodhāḥ)

weapons: śakti, ṛṣṭi, prāsa

cāmara (royal insignia/standards)

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 power of disciplined training and weapon-skill in war, while implicitly pointing to war’s ethical burden: such skill, though admirable as kṣatriya competence, results in shattered ranks and scattered lives, reminding the listener of the human cost behind martial excellence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a phase of intense fighting in which well-trained mounted warriors, using spears and javelins, break the enemy’s front ranks and insignia, piercing and dispersing them so that their formation collapses into confusion.