Shloka 15

Rajo-dhūli-saṃmūḍha-saṅgrāmaḥ

The Dust-Obscured Battle and Mutual Charges

Devanagari script

स हि शूरश्न कौन्तेय: क्षिप्रकारी धनंजय: । मन्ये शरै: शरीराणि शत्रूणां प्रमथिष्यति,तात! अर्जुनसे मुझे अधिक भय बना रहता है और वह भय कभी शान्त नहीं होता; क्योंकि कुन्ती-नन्दन अर्जुन शूरवीर तथा शीघ्रतापूर्वक अस्त्र संचालन करनेवाला है। मैं समझता हूँ कि वह अपने बाणोंद्वारा शत्रुओंके शरीरोंको मथ डालेगा

Transliteration

sa hi śūraś ca kaunteyaḥ kṣiprakārī dhanañjayaḥ | manye śaraiḥ śarīrāṇi śatrūṇāṃ pramathiṣyati, tāta ||

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra said: “For that son of Kuntī—Dhanañjaya Arjuna—is truly a hero, swift and decisive in action. I fear him constantly, and that fear does not subside. I think he will, with his arrows, crush and churn the bodies of his enemies, my son.”

Word by Word

• {'saḥ': 'he (that person)', 'hi': 'indeed, for', 'śūraḥ': 'heroic, valiant warrior', 'ca': 'and', 'kaunteyaḥ': 'son of Kuntī

• epithet of Arjuna', 'kṣiprakārī': 'quick-acting

• swift in execution', 'dhanañjayaḥ': '‘winner of wealth’

• epithet of Arjuna', 'manye': 'I think

• I consider', 'śaraiḥ': 'with arrows (instrumental plural of śara)', 'śarīrāṇi': 'bodies (accusative plural)', 'śatrūṇām': 'of enemies (genitive plural)', 'pramathiṣyati': 'he will crush/churn/violently agitate

• he will devastate', 'tāta': 'dear son

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Arjuna
• Kuntī
• Dhanañjaya
• enemies (śatravaḥ)
• arrows (śarāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how fear and attachment cloud judgment: Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s anxiety for his son makes him fixate on Arjuna’s prowess. Ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata theme that inner states (fear, partiality) shape political and moral choices, often leading to ruin.

What is happening in the narrative?

During the war reports and anticipations in Bhīṣma Parva, Dhṛtarāṣṭra speaks to his son (implicitly Duryodhana), confessing persistent fear of Arjuna. He describes Arjuna as swift and heroic and predicts that Arjuna will devastate the enemy ranks with his arrows.