Shloka 28

Devanagari script

संछिन्दन्तौ च गात्राणि संदधानौ च सायकान्‌

Transliteration

saṃchindantau ca gātrāṇi saṃdadhānau ca sāyakān

Translation

Sañjaya said: “They were severing one another’s limbs, and again fitting arrows to the bow.” The line captures the grim rhythm of battle—injury inflicted without pause, and immediate readiness to strike again—showing how, in war, skill and resolve can become instruments of relentless violence, pressing the listener to reflect on the ethical cost of such unbroken aggression.

Word by Word

• संछिन्दन्तौ: cutting asunder
• संछिन्दन्तौ: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + छिद्
• Form: लट्, परस्मैपदम्, प्रथम, द्विवचन, कर्तरि

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

• गात्राणि: limbs, bodies
• गात्राणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गात्र
• Form: नपुंसक, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

• संदधानौ: placing, fixing, fitting (on)
• संदधानौ: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + धा
• Form: लट्, आत्मनेपदम्, प्रथम, द्विवचन, कर्तरि

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

• सायकान्: arrows
• सायकान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सायक
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• limbs (gātrāṇi)
• arrows (sāyakāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the relentless momentum of warfare: harm is inflicted and immediately followed by renewed preparation to harm again. Ethically, it invites reflection on how duty and martial prowess, when absorbed into battle-fury, can normalize continuous violence and eclipse compassion.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a close, intense fight between two warriors (implied by the dual forms): they are cutting off limbs and repeatedly setting arrows to shoot again, indicating sustained, ferocious combat without respite.