Shloka 45

Devanagari script

नृत्यमान इवाभाति रथचर्यासु मारिष । तेन रत्नवता पार्थ: स च गाण्डीवधन्चना

Transliteration

nṛtyamāna ivābhāti rathacaryāsu māriṣa | tena ratnavatā pārthaḥ sa ca gāṇḍīvadhanvanā ||

Translation

ಮಾರಿಷ! ರಥಚರ್ಯೆಗಳಲ್ಲಿಯೇ ಅವನು ನೃತ್ಯಮಾಡುವವನಂತೆ ಪ್ರಕಾಶಿಸುತ್ತಾನೆ. ರತ್ನಶೋಭಿತ ಗಾಂಡೀವ ಧನುಸ್ಸನ್ನು ಧರಿಸಿದ ಆ ಪಾರ್ಥನು ಯುದ್ಧಕೌಶಲ್ಯದ ಅಧಿಪತಿಯಂತೆ ದೀಪ್ತನಾಗಿದ್ದಾನೆ.

Word by Word

नृत्यमानःdancing

इवas if, like

आभातिshines, appears

रथचर्यासुin the movements/driving of the chariot

मारिषO noble one (sir)

तेनby him/with him

रत्नवताpossessing jewels, gem-adorned

पार्थःPartha (Arjuna)

सःhe

चand

गाण्डीवधन्वाthe wielder of the Gandiva bow

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Pārtha (Arjuna)

Gāṇḍīva (bow)

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 highlights disciplined mastery: Arjuna’s controlled, graceful chariot-work and his famed bow symbolize trained excellence. In the Mahābhārata’s ethical horizon, such power is meaningful when governed by duty (kṣatriya-dharma) and steadiness rather than rage or cruelty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, reporting the battlefield to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, praises Arjuna’s chariot-maneuvering as so fluid it looks like a dance, and notes his splendor with the jewel-adorned Gāṇḍīva—emphasizing Arjuna’s readiness and superiority in combat.