Shloka 24

Devanagari script

असम्भ्रान्तो रथे तिष्ठ समेषु विषमेषु च । दिवमावृत्य तिष्ठन्तं गिरिं भिन्‍्द्यां सम पत्रिभि:

Transliteration

asambhrānto rathe tiṣṭha sameṣu viṣameṣu ca | divam āvṛtya tiṣṭhantaṃ giriṃ bhindyāṃ sama-patribhiḥ ||

Translation

Entah tanahnya rata atau tidak, berdirilah teguh di atas kereta, tanpa gentar. Dengan anak panah yang bulunya seimbang dan bidikannya tepat, engkau dapat menembus bahkan gunung yang seakan menjulang menutupi langit.

Word by Word

असम्भ्रान्तःunconfused, unshaken

रथेin the chariot

तिष्ठstand; remain

समेषुon level (grounds)

विषमेषुon uneven (grounds)

चand

दिवम्the sky; heaven

आवृत्यhaving covered; enveloping

तिष्ठन्तम्standing; remaining

गिरिम्mountain

भिन्द्याम्I would split; I could pierce

सम्together; completely

पत्रिभिःwith arrows (lit. feathered ones)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

ratha (chariot)

giri (mountain)

diva (sky/heaven)

patra (arrow-feathers/fletching)

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?

Maintain inner steadiness and disciplined focus amid changing conditions; true martial excellence depends on composure and precision, not on favorable terrain.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator frames an exhortation in a martial context: the warrior is urged to remain unshaken on the chariot over both smooth and rough ground, and is praised/encouraged toward such mastery that even a sky-high mountain could be pierced with well-balanced arrows.