Shloka 23

भीमसेनस्य बहुमहारथसंयुगः

Bhīmasena’s Engagement with Multiple Mahārathas

Devanagari script

गदाभिभिंन्दिपालैश्न निशितैश्व शिलीमुखै: । अनुकर्षैरुपासड्ड श्षक्रैर्भग्नैश्ष मारिष

Transliteration

gadābhir bhindipālaiś ca niśitaiś ca śilīmukhaiḥ | anukarṣair upāsadya śastrair bhagnaiś ca māriṣa ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O revered one, they closed in upon him, striking with maces, bhindipālas, and sharp arrows; pressing the attack with dragging-hooks and other weapons, and with shattered arms as well—so fierce was the clash.”

Word by Word

• गदा: with maces
• गदा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गदा
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Plural

• अभिभिन्दिपालैः: with bhindipālas (javelins)
• अभिभिन्दिपालैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अभिभिन्दिपाल
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• निशितैः: with sharp
• निशितैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निशित
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• शिलीमुखैः: with arrows
• शिलीमुखैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिलीमुख
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• अनुकर्षैः: with iron hooks / draggers
• अनुकर्षैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनुकर्ष
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• उपासङ्गैः: with upāsaṅgas (weapons/attachments)
• उपासङ्गैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: उपासङ्ग
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• शक्त्रैः: with spears/darts
• शक्त्रैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्त्र
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• भग्नैः: with broken
• भग्नैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भग्न
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• मारिष: O sir / O noble one
• Type: Noun
• Root: मारिष
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• gadā (mace)
• bhindipāla
• śilīmukha (arrow)
• anukarṣa (dragging-hook weapon)
• śastra (weapons)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the brutal immediacy of war: when combatants abandon restraint, weapons and bodies alike are broken. Implicitly it highlights the ethical weight of kṣatriya conflict—valor and duty unfold amid suffering and destruction.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a close-quarters assault in which fighters rush in and strike with multiple weapons—maces, heavy darts, and sharp arrows—pressing the opponent hard, with weapons breaking in the intensity of the fight.