Shloka 10

Devanagari script

लब्धलक्ष्यौ तु गान्धारावहतां पाण्डवं पुन: । निदाघवार्षिकौ मासौ लोकं घर्माशुभिर्यथा,जैसे गर्मीके दो महीने सूर्यकी उष्ण किरणोंद्वारा सम्पूर्ण लोकोंको संतप्त करते रहते हैं, उसी प्रकार वे दोनों भाई गान्धारराजकुमार लक्ष्य वेधनेमें सफल होकर पाण्डुपुत्र अर्जुनपर बारंबार आघात करने लगे

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

labdhalakṣyau tu gāndhārāv ahatāṃ pāṇḍavaṃ punaḥ |

nidāghavārṣikau māsau lokaṃ gharma-aśubhir yathā ||

Translation

Sanjaya said: The two Gandhara princes, having found their mark, struck the son of Pandu again and again—just as the two months of summer and the rainy season, by their oppressive heat and harsh conditions, keep the whole world afflicted.

Word by Word

लब्धलक्ष्यौhaving obtained the aim / having hit the mark

तुbut/indeed

गान्धारौthe two Gandhāra princes (sons of the Gandhāra king)

अहताम्they struck / smote

पाण्डवम्the Pāṇḍava (Arjuna)

पुनःagain, repeatedly

निदाघवार्षिकौthe two (months), summer and rainy-season

मासौtwo months

लोकम्the world

घर्माशुभिःby inauspicious heats / scorching heats

यथाas, just as

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Gandhara princes (the two Gandharas)

Pandava (Arjuna)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how skilled, repeated aggression in war can become an all-encompassing affliction, likened to seasonal extremes that oppress the world—underscoring the ethical weight of martial power and the suffering it can generate.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports that the two Gandhara princes, now successfully aiming, repeatedly strike Arjuna, comparing their relentless blows to the oppressive impact of harsh seasonal months upon the world.