Mahabharata 9.45.54 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 45, Shloka 54

Kārttikeya-Abhiṣecana: Mātṛgaṇa-Nāma Saṃkīrtana and Skanda’s Commission

Devanagari script

सागरा: सरितश्चैव गिरयश्न महाबला: । ददुः सेनागणाध्यक्षान्‌ शूलपट्टिशधारिण:

Transliteration

sāgarāḥ saritaś caiva girayaś ca mahābalāḥ | daduḥ senāgaṇādhyakṣān śūlapaṭṭiśadhāriṇaḥ ||

Translation

ヴァイシャンパーヤナは語った。大海も河川も、そして剛力の山々さえも、軍勢の将たち—槍や重き武器を携える者—を差し出したかのようであった。まるで自然の諸力そのものが、迫り来る激突のために戦士を供出しているかのように。ここに戦の道義的な重みがいよいよ高まる。争いがこの規模に膨れ上がるとき、世界全体が暴力の器具と担い手を供給するために引きずり込まれるかのように見えるのである。

Word by Word

• सागराः: oceans
• सागराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सागर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सरितः: rivers
• सरितः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सरित्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• एव: indeed/also
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• गिरयः: mountains
• गिरयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गिरि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• महाबलाः: mighty/very strong
• महाबलाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महाबल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• ददुः: gave
• Type: Verb
• Root: दा (ददाति)
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• सेनागणाध्यक्षान्: commanders/leaders of troops
• सेनागणाध्यक्षान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेनागणाध्यक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• शूलपट्टिशधारिणः: bearing spears and axes
• शूलपट्टिशधारिणः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शूलपट्टिशधारिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• oceans (sāgara)
• rivers (sarita)
• mountains (giri)
• army commanders (senāgaṇādhyakṣa)
• spears (śūla)
• paṭṭiśa weapons

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses cosmic imagery to underline how war can feel all-encompassing: when adharma-driven violence expands, it seems as if even nature is compelled to furnish weapons and warriors. The ethical undertone is a warning about the magnitude and contagion of conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator describes a surge of martial leadership and armed men—commanders bearing spears and heavy weapons—through a hyperbolic comparison: oceans, rivers, and mountains are said to 'give' them, emphasizing the vastness and inevitability of the battle atmosphere in the Shalya Parva context.