Shloka 18

Devanagari script

मद्रराजस्य शल्यस्य ध्वजाग्रेडग्नेशिखामिव

Transliteration

madrarājasya śalyasya dhvajāgre dagnēśikhām iva

Translation

Sañjaya said: (He appeared) like a flame blazing at the tip of the banner of Śalya, the king of Madra—an image that heightens the war’s moral tension by portraying martial prowess as a consuming fire, both awe-inspiring and destructive.

Word by Word

• मद्रराजस्य: of the king of Madra
• मद्रराजस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: मद्रराज
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• शल्यस्य: of Shalya
• शल्यस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: शल्य
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• ध्वजाग्रे: on the tip/top of the banner
• ध्वजाग्रे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्वजाग्र
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• अग्नेशिखाम्: a flame of fire
• अग्नेशिखाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अग्नेशिखा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• इव: like/as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Śalya
• Madra
• dhvaja (banner/standard)
• śikhā (flame)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses a fire-simile to suggest that battlefield brilliance can be simultaneously radiant and ruinous—power that inspires fear and admiration, yet consumes lives and dharma when unchecked.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a warrior’s appearance in battle through vivid imagery: something (implicitly a fighter or weapon/energy in motion) is compared to a blazing flame at the tip of Śalya’s banner, emphasizing intensity and imminent danger in the Drona Parva conflict.