Shloka 44

Devanagari script

विषवन्तो महाराज नागाश्चार्जुनतो5भवन्‌ | ऐरावता: सौरभेया वैशालेयाश्ष भोगिन:

Transliteration

viṣavanto mahārāja nāgāś cārjunato 'bhavan | airāvatāḥ saurabheyā vaiśāleyāś ca bhoginaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai Raja Agung, dari Arjuna muncul nāga-nāga pembawa bisa—Airāvata, Saurabheya, dan Vaiśāleya—melingkar dan meliuk laksana para bhogin yang mengerikan.”

Word by Word

विषवन्तःpoisonous

महाराजO great king

नागाःserpents (Nāgas)

चand

अर्जुनतःfrom Arjuna

अभवन्became / came to be

ऐरावताःAirāvatas (a class/lineage of Nāgas)

सौरभेयाःSaurabheyas (a class/lineage of Nāgas)

वैशालेयाःVaiśāleyas (a class/lineage of Nāgas)

चand

भोगिनःserpents (hooded ones)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Arjuna

Nāgas (serpents)

Airāvata nāgas

Saurabheya nāgas

Vaiśāleya nāgas

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 violence in war is experienced as a force of dread and poison-like harm: even a righteous warrior’s power can appear terrifying, reminding the listener that battle magnifies suffering and demands sober ethical reflection on consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Arjuna’s onslaught is being described through a vivid image: venomous nāgas of various named groups seem to ‘arise from’ Arjuna—an epic metaphor for the deadly, overwhelming nature of his attack on the battlefield.