Shloka 19

अभिमन्यु-पराक्रमवर्णनम्

Abhimanyu’s Prowess and the Duḥśāsana Engagement

Devanagari script

ज्याशब्द: शुश्रुवे तस्य तलशब्दश्न दारुण: । महाशनिमुच: काले पयोदस्येव नि:स्वनः,उसके धनुषकी प्रत्यंचा और हथेलीका शब्द वर्षाकालमें महान्‌ वज्र गिरानेवाले मेघकी गर्जनाके समान भयंकर सुनायी पड़ता था

Transliteration

jyāśabdaḥ śuśruve tasya talaśabdaś ca dāruṇaḥ | mahāśanimucaḥ kāle payodasyeva niḥsvanaḥ ||

Translation

उसके धनुष की प्रत्यंचा का शब्द और हथेली की थपकी का कठोर नाद सुनाई देता था—वर्षाकाल में महान् वज्र गिराने वाले मेघ की गर्जना के समान भयंकर।

Word by Word

ज्याशब्दःthe sound of the bowstring

शुश्रुवेwas heard

तस्यof him / his

तलशब्दश्चand the sound of the palm (slap/hand)

दारुणःterrible, dreadful

महाशनिमुचःof the great thunderbolt-releaser (cloud)

कालेin the season/time (rainy season)

पयोदस्यof a rain-cloud

इवlike, as

निःस्वनःroar, loud sound

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

bowstring (jyā)

palm/hand (tala)

rain-cloud (payoda)

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 underscores how war magnifies signs of power and intimidation: the hero’s very sounds become ‘thunder,’ reminding readers that kṣatriya-dharma involves formidable prowess, yet such prowess also signals the grave ethical weight of violence and the approaching suffering it unleashes.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the terrifying sounds produced by a warrior—his bowstring’s twang and the clap of his palm—comparing them to the roaring of a rain-cloud that releases great lightning, thereby heightening the battlefield tension and foreshadowing fierce combat.