Shloka 33

उपायैः पूर्ववधकथनम् / Strategic Justifications for Prior Eliminations

Devanagari script

ऋष्टिशक्तिगदाबाणमुसलप्रासपट्टिशा:

Transliteration

ṛṣṭiśaktigadābāṇamusalaprāsapaṭṭiśāḥ

Translation

サンジャヤは言った。「（彼らは）槍と投げ槍、棍棒（ガダー）と矢、こん棒、長槍、そして剣を携え、投げ放った——戦の激怒の中で解き放たれた武器の奔流である。」

Word by Word

• ऋष्टि: spears/lances
• ऋष्टि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऋष्टि
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• शक्ति: javelins/darts
• शक्ति: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्ति
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• गदा: maces
• गदा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गदा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• बाण: arrows
• बाण: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• मुसल: clubs/pestles
• मुसल: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुसल
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• प्रास: pikes/lances
• प्रास: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रास
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पट्टिशा: battle-axes
• पट्टिशा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पट्टिश
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• spears (ṛṣṭi)
• javelins (śakti)
• maces (gadā)
• arrows (bāṇa)
• clubs (musala)
• lances (prāsa)
• swords (paṭṭiśa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse itself is primarily descriptive, but it implicitly highlights the grave reality of war: when many weapons are set in motion, violence multiplies beyond individual intent. In the epic’s ethical horizon, such catalogues underscore the heavy karmic and dharmic burden borne by warriors and rulers who choose escalation.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is reporting to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the intensity of the fighting in Droṇa Parva. This line lists the kinds of weapons being wielded and hurled, conveying the ferocity and breadth of the combat.