Shloka 3

Devanagari script

तमभ्याशगतं दृष्टवा सहदेवात्मज: प्रभो | क्षत्रधमें स्थितो वीर: समरायाजुहाव ह,प्रभो! अर्जुनको अपने नगरके निकट आया देख क्षत्रिय-धर्ममें स्थित हुए वीर सहदेवकुमार राजा मेघसन्धिने उन्हें युद्धके लिये आमन्त्रित किया

Transliteration

tam abhyāśagataṃ dṛṣṭvā sahadevātmajaḥ prabho | kṣatradharme sthito vīraḥ samarāyājuhāva ha ||

Translation

Vaiśaṃpāyana said: Seeing Arjuna come near his city, the valiant king Meghasandhi, son of Sahadeva, steadfast in the dharma of a kṣatriya, formally challenged him to battle—acting from the warrior’s code that demands meeting a rival openly in combat.

Word by Word

तम्him

अभ्याशगतम्come near, approached

दृष्ट्वाhaving seen

सहदेवात्मजःSahadeva's son

प्रभोO lord

क्षत्रधर्मेin kshatriya-duty

स्थितःstanding, abiding

वीरःthe hero

समरायfor battle

आजुहावchallenged, called

हindeed

प्रभोO lord

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśaṃpāyana

Arjuna

Meghasandhi

Sahadeva

city (nagara)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds kṣatriya-dharma: a warrior-king is expected to uphold honor and duty by meeting an approaching rival with an open, formal challenge rather than avoidance or deceit.

What is happening in the narrative?

As Arjuna nears the city during the Aśvamedha-related campaign, King Meghasandhi (Sahadeva’s son) sees him and summons him to battle, initiating a confrontation.