Shloka 60

Devanagari script

एष शड्खगदापाणिवरवसुदेवो5$तिवीर्यवान्‌ | वाहयन्नेति तुरगान्‌ पाण्डुरान्‌ वातरंहस:

Transliteration

eṣa śaṅkha-gadā-pāṇi-vara-vasudevo 'tivīryavān | vāhayann eti turagān pāṇḍurān vāta-raṁhasaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: “Lihatlah Vāsudeva yang teramat perkasa itu, menggenggam sangkha dan gada. Ia maju, mengendalikan kuda-kuda putih yang melaju secepat angin.”

Word by Word

एषःthis (man)

शङ्ख-गदा-पाणिःone whose hand holds a conch and a mace

वरःexcellent, best

वसुदेवःVasudeva (Krishna)

अतिवीर्यवान्of exceedingly great prowess

वाहयन्driving, carrying (as charioteer)

एतिgoes, proceeds

तुरगान्horses

पाण्डुरान्pale-white

वातरंहसःswift as the wind

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)

śaṅkha (conch)

gadā (mace)

turagāḥ (horses)

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 moral and psychological force of righteous leadership in war: Vāsudeva’s divine emblems (conch and mace) and his calm mastery as charioteer signify protection, order, and unwavering resolve—suggesting that power guided by higher purpose steadies and elevates those who fight under it.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya points out Kṛṣṇa (Vāsudeva) advancing on the battlefield, conch and mace in hand, driving the white horses at wind-like speed—an image that signals the approach of a formidable, divinely supported chariot and heightens the tension of the combat scene.