Shloka 23

Chapter 40: Śiva in Kirāta Disguise Tests Arjuna

Mūka-vadha and the Contest

Devanagari script

शड्खदुन्दुभिघोषाश्व भेरीणां च सहस्रश: । तस्मिन्‌ मुहूर्ते सम्प्राप्ते निर्धातश्न महानभूत्‌,उस शुभ मुहूर्त्तक आते ही शंख और दुन्दुभियोंके शब्द होने लगे। सहस्रों भेरियाँ बज उठीं। आकाशमें वायुके टकरानेका महान्‌ शब्द होने लगा

Transliteration

śaṅkha-dundubhi-ghoṣāśva-bherīṇāṃ ca sahasraśaḥ | tasmin muhūrte samprāpte nirdhātaś ca mahān abhūt ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: When that auspicious moment arrived, the blare of conches and kettledrums arose; thousands of war-drums resounded, and a great roaring clangor—like the striking of the sky by the wind—filled the heavens, marking the solemn commencement of the event.

Word by Word

• {'śaṅkha': 'conch (ritual/war trumpet)', 'dundubhi': 'kettledrum

• large war-drum', 'ghoṣa': 'sound

• proclamation', 'aśva': 'horse (often part of a compound indicating cavalry/war-assemblage

• here within a sound-compound)', 'bherī': 'kettle-drum

• large drum used in royal/war contexts', 'sahasraśaḥ': 'by the thousands

• in countless numbers', 'tasmin': 'in that

• at that (time/place)', 'muhūrte': 'at the moment

• at the auspicious time (muhūrta)', 'samprāpte': 'having arrived

• when it came to pass', 'nirdhāta': 'loud reverberation

• resounding clang (lit. ‘striking/hammering sound’)', 'mahān': 'great

• mighty', 'abhūt': 'arose

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• śaṅkha (conch)
• dundubhi (kettledrum)
• bherī (war-drum)
• muhūrta (auspicious moment)
• ākāśa (sky/heavens)
• vāyu (wind)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the cultural-ethical weight of acting at a proper muhūrta (auspicious time): major undertakings are framed as solemn, publicly witnessed events, signaled by ritual and royal instruments, emphasizing order, legitimacy, and collective attention.

What is happening in the narrative?

At the arrival of an auspicious moment, conches and multiple kinds of drums are sounded in great numbers, and a vast reverberation fills the sky—an auditory marker that a significant action or ceremony is beginning.