Shloka 57

Cakravyūha-saṃkalpaḥ, Saṃśaptaka-āhvānaṃ, Saubhadra-vikrīḍitam

Drona Parva, Adhyāya 32

Devanagari script

ते निकृत्तायुधा: शूरा निर्विषा भुजगा इव

Transliteration

te nikṛttāyudhāḥ śūrā nirviṣā bhujagā iva

Translation

サンジャヤは言った。「その勇士たちは武器を断たれ、毒を抜かれた蛇のようになった。姿はなお恐ろしいが、真に打ち据える力を奪われたのである。この譬えは、戦における武威が勇気だけでなく、勇気を効力あるものとする手段と規律に支えられていることを示している。」

Word by Word

• ते: they (those)
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• निकृत्तायुधाः: whose weapons are cut off / disarmed
• निकृत्तायुधाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निकृत्तायुध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• शूराः: heroes, brave men
• शूराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• निर्विषाः: deprived of poison, venomless
• निर्विषाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्विष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• भुजगाः: serpents
• भुजगाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भुजग
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• इव: like, as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• weapons (āyudha)
• serpents/snakes (bhujaga)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights that courage alone is not sufficient in conflict; effectiveness depends on the instruments and capacities that enable action. Ethically, it also evokes the pathos of warriors rendered powerless—suggesting how quickly battlefield status can shift from threat to vulnerability.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes warriors who have been disarmed (their weapons cut away). He compares them to snakes that have lost their venom—still appearing dangerous, but no longer able to deliver their decisive harm.