Previous Verse
Next Verse

Shloka 19

अध्याय ९१ — शैनेयस्य गजानीकभेदनं जलसंधवधश्च

Chapter 91: Sātyaki breaks the elephant array and slays Jalasaṃdha

उद्वेष्टन्ति विचेष्टन्ति संचेष्टन्ति च सर्वश: । वेग॑ कुर्वन्ति संरब्धा निकृत्ता: परमेषुभि:,अर्जुनके श्रेष्ठ बाणोंसे कटी हुई वीरोंकी परिघके समान मोटी और महान्‌ सर्पके समान दिखायी देनेवाली भिन्दिपाल, प्रास, शक्ति, ऋष्टि, फरसे, निर्व्यूह, खड्ग, धनुष, तोमर, बाण, कवच, आभूषण, गदा और भुजबंद आदिसे युक्त भुजाएँ आवेशमें भरकर अपना महान्‌ वेग प्रकट करती, ऊपरको उछलती, छटपटाती और सब प्रकारकी चेष्टाएँ करती थीं

sañjaya uvāca |

udveṣṭanti viceṣṭanti sañceṣṭanti ca sarvaśaḥ |

vegaṃ kurvanti saṃrabdhā nikṛttāḥ parameṣubhiḥ ||

サञ्जयは語った。最上の矢に断たれた戦士たちの腕は、なお戦の憤激に駆られて、よじれ、もがき、あらゆる仕草で動いた。まるで斬り落とされた後も進もうとするかのようであった。重い鉄の棍棒のように、また大蛇のように見え、上へ跳ね上がって痙攣し、四肢の断裂の中にさえ戦の恐るべき勢いを示した――怒りと暴力が、肉体の限界を越え、抑制を越えてなお噴き上がることの象徴である。

उद्वेष्टन्तिthey writhe/coil upward
उद्वेष्टन्ति:
Karta
TypeVerb
Rootउद्-√वेष्ट्
FormLat (Present), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada
विचेष्टन्तिthey struggle/move about
विचेष्टन्ति:
Karta
TypeVerb
Rootवि-√चेष्ट्
FormLat (Present), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada
संचेष्टन्तिthey make efforts/move vigorously
संचेष्टन्ति:
Karta
TypeVerb
Rootसम्-√चेष्ट्
FormLat (Present), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada
and
:
TypeIndeclinable
Root
सर्वशःin every way/on all sides
सर्वशः:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootसर्वशः
वेगम्speed/impetus
वेगम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootवेग
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
कुर्वन्तिthey make/produce
कुर्वन्ति:
Karta
TypeVerb
Root√कृ
FormLat (Present), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada
संरब्धाःenraged/impetuous
संरब्धाः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootसं-√रभ्
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural, Past passive participle
निकृत्ताःcut off/severed
निकृत्ताः:
Karta
TypeAdjective
Rootनि-√कृत्
FormMasculine, Nominative, Plural, Past passive participle
परमेषुभिःby supreme arrows
परमेषुभिः:
Karana
TypeNoun
Rootपरमेषु
FormMasculine, Instrumental, Plural

संजय उवाच

S
Sañjaya
A
Arjuna
A
arrows (iṣu)
S
severed arms of warriors

Educational Q&A

The verse underscores the momentum of violence: even when the body is destroyed, the force of rage and the consequences of battle seem to continue. Ethically, it functions as a stark reminder of war’s dehumanizing excess and the need for dharmic restraint, because once unleashed, destructive impulses are hard to contain.

Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene where warriors’ arms, cut off by Arjuna’s superb arrows, still writhe and jerk as if alive—coiling like serpents and leaping upward—vividly portraying the ferocity and chaos of the fighting.