Shloka 40

Devanagari script

सगजाश्न गजारोहा: किरीटिशरताडिता: । ततोडर्जुनभुजोत्सृष्टरावृता5डसीद्‌ वसुन्धरा

Transliteration

sa-gajāś ca gajārohāḥ kirīṭi-śara-tāḍitāḥ | tato 'rjuna-bhujotsṛṣṭair āvṛtā 'sīd vasundharā ||

Translation

サンジャヤは言った。冠を戴くアルジュナの矢に射られ、象と象乗りはたちまち混乱に陥った。やがて大地は、アルジュナの両腕から放たれた矢で覆われたかのように見えた――圧倒的な武威と、戦が払わせる重い代償を映す光景である。

Word by Word

सगजाःhaving elephants (with elephants)

अश्वhorse

गजारोहाःelephant-riders

किरीटिनःof the diademed one (Arjuna)

शरby arrows

आहताःstruck, smitten

ततःthen, thereafter

अर्जुनof Arjuna

भुजby (his) arm

उत्सृष्टreleased, discharged

रावृताःcovered, enveloped

असीत्was, became

वसुन्धराthe earth

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Arjuna (Kirīṭin)

elephants (gaja)

elephant-riders (gajārohāḥ)

arrows (śara)

earth (vasundharā)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the overwhelming power of a warrior acting within the battlefield role of a kṣatriya, while implicitly reminding the listener that such power manifests as widespread destruction—inviting reflection on the ethical weight and consequences of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Arjuna’s intense archery: elephants and their riders are struck by his arrows, and the ground appears covered with the multitude of missiles he releases, conveying the scale and ferocity of the combat.