Shloka 15

भीष्मस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति उपालम्भः

Bhīṣma’s Reproof to Duryodhana

Devanagari script

शरशव्त्यूष्टिनाराचैर्निघ्नन्तो गजयोधिन: । भिन्दिपालैस्तथा शूलैर्मुद्गरैः सपरश्वधै:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | śaraśaktyūṣṭhinārācair nighnanto gajayodhinaḥ | bhindipālaiś tathā śūlair mudgaraiḥ saparaśvadhaiḥ ||

Translation

サञ्जयは語った。「象上で戦う武者たちは、矢、投げ槍、鉄の棍棒で敵を打ち倒し、またbhindipāla、槍、メイス、斧でも同様に斬り伏せた。この光景は、多様な武器が休みなく振るわれる苛烈さを語り、武の技が抑制ではなく破壊へと全面的に向けられていることを示していた。」

Word by Word

शरwith arrows

शव्त्यूष्टिwith a kind of missile/weapon (śavatyūṣṭi)

नाराचैःwith iron arrows/darts (nārācas)

निघ्नन्तःstriking, slaying

गज-योधिनःelephant-warriors (fighters on elephants)

भिन्दिपालैःwith bhindipālas (javelins/throwing-spears)

तथाand also/likewise

शूलैःwith spears/pikes

मुद्गरैःwith maces/clubs

स-परश्वधैःtogether with axes

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

gaja-yodhinaḥ (elephant-warriors)

śara (arrows)

śakti (javelins)

ūṣṭhi (iron clubs)

nārāca (iron arrows)

bhindipāla (darts)

śūla (spears)

mudgara (maces)

paraśvadha (axes)

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 is primarily descriptive rather than doctrinal: it highlights how, in war, power and skill manifest as relentless harm through many instruments. In ethical reflection, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between kṣatriya warfare as duty and the tragic human cost of unrestrained violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports intense fighting in which elephant-mounted warriors are striking down opponents using a range of weapons—arrows, javelins, heavy clubs, darts, spears, maces, and axes—emphasizing the ferocity and variety of combat on the battlefield.