Shloka 23

गान्धारी-प्रशमनम् — Pacification of Gāndhārī and Kṛṣṇa’s Counsel at Hāstinapura

Devanagari script

क्षिप्रमुत्ततकालानि कुरु कार्याणि भारत | उपायातमुपप्लव्यं सह गाण्डीवधन्चना

Transliteration

kṣipram uttatakālāni kuru kāryāṇi bhārata | upāyātam upaplavyam saha gāṇḍīvadhanvanā

Translation

Vāyu said: “O Bhārata, act swiftly and do what must be done at once. Arjuna, the wielder of the Gāṇḍīva, has arrived—ready to be brought into the fray.”

Word by Word

क्षिप्रम्quickly

उत्ततकालानिurgent/time-critical

कुरुdo

कार्याणिtasks, duties

भारतO Bharata

उपायातम्arrived, come near

उपप्लव्यम्to Upaplavya (place-name)

सहtogether with

गाण्डीवधन्वनाwith the wielder of the Gāṇḍīva bow (Arjuna)

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāyu (Wind-god)

Bhārata (addressee, a Kuru descendant)

Arjuna

Gāṇḍīva (Arjuna’s bow)

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 urges prompt, decisive performance of one’s necessary duty when the moment has arrived—especially in a crisis where hesitation can undermine righteous purpose and collective safety.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu addresses a Kuru hero (“Bhārata”), pressing him to act immediately, noting that Arjuna—identified by his famed bow Gāṇḍīva—has arrived and is ready to be deployed in the unfolding battle situation.