Shloka 13

Adhyāya 17 — गजयुद्ध-वृत्तान्तः, सहदेव-दुःशासन-संघर्षः, नकुल-कर्ण-समागमः

Elephant-battle account; Sahadeva–Duhshasana clash; Nakula–Karna encounter

Devanagari script

अथास्य बाहू द्विपहस्तसंनिभौ शिरकश्ष पूर्णेन्दुनिभानन त्रिभि: । क्षुरै: प्रचिच्छेद सहैव पाण्डव- स्ततो द्विपं बाणशतै: समार्पयत्‌,तब अर्जुनने हाथीकी सूँड़के समान मोटी दण्डधारकी दोनों भुजाओं तथा पूर्ण चन्द्रमाके समान मनोहर मुखवाले उनके मस्तकको भी तीन छुरोंसे एक साथ ही काट डाला। फिर उन्होंने उनके हाथको सौ बाण मारे

Transliteration

athāsya bāhū dvipahastasaṃnibhau śiraskaś ca pūrṇendunibhānanaṃ tribhiḥ | kṣuraiḥ praciccheda sahaiva pāṇḍavas tato dvipaṃ bāṇaśataiḥ samārpayat ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then the Pāṇḍava (Arjuna) simultaneously severed his two arms—thick like an elephant’s trunk—and also his head, whose face was lovely like the full moon, with three razor-edged arrows. Thereafter he struck the elephant with a hundred arrows. The passage underscores the grim precision of battlefield duty: skill and resolve are exercised without hesitation in the violent economy of war.

Word by Word

• {'atha': 'then, thereafter', 'asya': 'of him, his', 'bāhū': 'two arms', 'dvipa-hasta-saṃnibhau': 'resembling an elephant’s trunk/hand

• very thick and powerful', 'śiras (śiraskaś ca)': 'head', 'pūrṇendu-nibha-ānana': 'having a face like the full moon

• moon-faced, beautiful-faced', 'tribhiḥ': 'with three', 'kṣuraiḥ': 'with razor(-like) arrows

• sharp-edged missiles', 'praciccheda': 'he cut off, severed', 'sahaiva': 'together, simultaneously', 'pāṇḍavaḥ': 'the Pāṇḍava (here, Arjuna)', 'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'dvipam': 'elephant', 'bāṇaśataiḥ': 'with a hundred arrows', 'samārpayat': 'he inflicted/shot

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• पाण्डव (Pāṇḍava—Arjuna)
• द्विप (elephant)
• क्षुर (razor-edged arrows)
• बाण (arrows)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the harsh reality of kṣatriya duty in war: disciplined skill and decisive action are exercised in service of one’s side and obligation, even when the acts are violent. It invites reflection on how dharma in battle can demand firmness while remaining bound to the larger moral order of the epic.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Arjuna’s swift martial feat: with three sharp, razor-like arrows he simultaneously severs an enemy’s two powerful arms and his head, and then he showers the elephant (mount/war-elephant) with a hundred arrows.