Shloka 26

Devanagari script

भृशं भिन्नतनु: संख्ये शरजालैरनेकश: । स्थातव्यमिति तिष्ठामि रणे सम्प्रति मानद,“मानद! सुदृढ़ लक्ष्यवाले वीर धनुर्धर भीमसेनने संग्राममें अपने बाणसमूहोंद्वारा अनेक बार मेरे शरीरको अत्यन्त क्षत-विक्षत कर दिया है। मुझे खड़ा रहना चाहिये (भागना नहीं चाहिये), यह सोचकर ही इस समय मैं रणभूमिमें ठहरा हुआ हूँ

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

bhṛśaṃ bhinnatanuḥ saṅkhye śarajālair anekaśaḥ |

sthātavyam iti tiṣṭhāmi raṇe samprati mānada ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “In the thick of battle my body has been grievously torn again and again by volleys of arrows. Yet, thinking, ‘I must stand my ground,’ I remain here now upon the battlefield, O bestower of honor.”

Word by Word

• {'sañjaya uvāca': 'Sañjaya said', 'bhṛśam': 'exceedingly, intensely', 'bhinna-tanuḥ': 'one whose body is pierced/torn

• wounded in body', 'saṅkhye': 'in battle, in combat', 'śara-jālaiḥ': 'by nets/volleys of arrows', 'anekaśaḥ': 'many times, repeatedly', 'sthātavyam': 'it must be stood (one must stand firm)

• one should not flee', 'iti': 'thus, thinking', 'tiṣṭhāmi': 'I stand

• I remain', 'raṇe': 'in war, on the battlefield', 'samprati': 'now, at present', 'mānada': 'O giver of honor

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• arrows (śara)
• battlefield/war (saṅkhya/raṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even when grievously wounded, a warrior frames his choice through dharma and honor: the resolve to stand firm (sthātavyam) rather than flee becomes an ethical commitment, not merely a physical act.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a battlefield moment where the speaker, repeatedly pierced by dense volleys of arrows, remains in the fight by consciously deciding to hold his ground, addressing another as “mānada” (giver of honor).