Mahabharata — Bhishma Parva, Shloka 9

Devanagari script

तथैव तव सैन्यस्य पार्थेन च महात्मना । नवमेघप्रतीकाशा: पातिता बहुधा गजा:,इसी प्रकार महात्मा अर्जुनने आपकी सेनाके नूतन मेघके समान काले रंगवाले बहुत-से हाथी मार गिराये

Transliteration

tathaiva tava sainyasya pārthena ca mahātmanā | navamegha-pratīkāśāḥ pātitā bahudhā gajāḥ ||

Translation

ສັນຊະຍະ ກ່າວວ່າ: «ໃນກອງທັບຂອງພະອົງເຊັ່ນດຽວກັນ ຊ້າງຫຼາຍໂຕ—ດຳດັ່ງເມກຝົນທີ່ພຶ່ງກໍ່ຕົວ—ຖືກພາຣຖະ (ອາຣຊຸນ) ຜູ້ມີຈິດໃຈສູງ ຍິງລົ້ມລົງເປັນຈຳນວນຫຼາຍ»។

Word by Word

• तथा: thus, in the same way
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• एव: indeed, just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• तव: of you, your
• तव: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Singular

• सैन्यस्य: of the army
• सैन्यस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: सैन्य
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• पार्थेन: by Partha (Arjuna)
• पार्थेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

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

• महात्मना: by the great-souled one
• महात्मना: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• नव: new
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• मेघ: clouds
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेघ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• प्रतीकाशाः: resembling, like
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रतीकाश
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पातिताः: felled, caused to fall
• Type: Verb
• Root: पत्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural, Past passive participle (क्त)

• बहुधा: in many ways; greatly; repeatedly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: बहुधा

• गजाः: elephants
• गजाः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Pārtha (Arjuna)
• Kaurava army
• elephants

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse offers a sober epic perspective on warfare: even when a warrior acts within kṣatriya-dharma, the outcome is still mass destruction. Sañjaya’s report highlights prowess while implicitly reminding the listener of war’s heavy cost.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing to Dhṛtarāṣṭra the progress of the Kurukṣetra battle, stating that Arjuna (Pārtha), described as mahātmā, has felled many elephants in the Kaurava forces—elephants compared in color and mass to newly formed rain-clouds.