Shloka 25

Devanagari script

अहं हि ज्वलतां मध्ये मयूखानामिवांशुमान्‌ । प्रयोक्ता देवसृष्टानामस्त्राणां प्ततागत:

Transliteration

ahaṃ hi jvalatāṃ madhye mayūkhānām ivāṃśumān | prayoktā devasṛṣṭānām astrāṇāṃ pratāgataḥ ||

Translation

Sanjaya said: “Indeed, amid the blazing radiance, I stood like the sun among its own rays—one who has returned after deploying the divine, heaven-born weapons.”

Word by Word

अहम्I

हिindeed/for

ज्वलताम्of blazing (ones/things)

मध्येin the midst

मयूखानाम्of rays

इवlike/as

अंशुमान्the sun (the radiant one)

प्रयोक्ताthe wielder/user

देवसृष्टानाम्of those created by the gods

अस्त्राणाम्of weapons/missiles

प्रततागतःarrived/come forth (fully/continuously)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

aṃśumān (the Sun, as simile)

mayūkha (rays, as simile)

devasṛṣṭa astrāṇi (divine astras/weapons)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the awe and danger surrounding divine weaponry: extraordinary power (astras) creates a blazing, overwhelming field, and the wielder’s role carries grave responsibility—strength must be governed by restraint and right purpose.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes a warrior’s presence amid intense, fiery brilliance, comparing him to the sun among its rays, and notes that he has returned after employing god-created astras—signaling a moment of heightened escalation in the battle.