Shloka 35

Devanagari script

शूलमुद्गरधारिण्या शैलपादपहस्तया

Transliteration

śūlamudgaradhāriṇyā śailapādapahastayā

Translation

Sañjaya said: She advanced bearing a spear and a mace, with feet like rocky crags and hands that struck like stone—an image of overwhelming, almost inhuman martial force on the battlefield.

Word by Word

• शूल-मुद्गर-धारिण्या: by/with (her) who bears a spear and a mace
• शूल-मुद्गर-धारिण्या: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धारिणी (धृ + णिनि)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• शैल-पादप-हस्तया: by/with (her) whose hands are (like) rocks and trees
• शैल-पादप-हस्तया: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: हस्ता (हस्त)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• śūla (spear)
• mudgara (mace)
• śaila (rock/mountain)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line underscores how war magnifies power into terrifying imagery; it implicitly cautions that martial prowess, when unmoored from dharma, becomes a force of destruction rather than protection.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a formidable female figure entering or moving in battle, characterized by carrying a spear and mace and by rock-like limbs—poetic hyperbole to convey her overwhelming strength and threat.