Udyoga Parva Adhyaya 47 Shloka 21 - Mahabharata | Lao | Vedapath

Vyasa

←Previous VerseNext Verse→

Shloka 21

Udyoga-parva Adhyāya 47 — Arjuna’s Deterrent Declaration

Sañjaya’s Report

Devanagari script

शैक्येन नागांस्तरसा विगृह्नन्‌ यदा छेत्ता धार्तराष्ट्रस्य सैन्यम्‌ छिन्दन्‌ वन॑ परशुनेव शूर- स्तदा युद्ध धार्तराष्ट्रोडन्वतप्स्यत्‌

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | śaikyena nāgāṁs tarasā vigṛhṇan yadā chettā dhārtarāṣṭrasya sainyaṁ chindan vanaṁ paraśuneva śūraḥ | tadā yuddhe dhārtarāṣṭro ’nvatapsyat ||

Translation

ສັນຊະຍະ ກ່າວວ່າ: «ເມື່ອວິລະຊົນ “ຜູ້ຜ່າຟັນ” (ພີມາ) ຈັບນັກຮົບຜູ້ແຂງແກ່ງ ດັ່ງຈັບງູໃຫຍ່ດ້ວຍບ່ວງບາດ ແລະລາກພວກເຂົາດ້ວຍກຳລັງທີ່ຕ້ານບໍ່ໄດ້; ແລະເມື່ອລາວເລີ່ມຜ່າກອງທັບຂອງ ທຣິຕະຣາດຣະ ດັ່ງຄົນຕັດໄມ້ຟັນປ່າດ້ວຍຂວານ, ໃນຂະນະນັ້ນ ກາງສົງຄາມ ບຸດແຫ່ງ ທຣິຕະຣາດຣະ (ທຸຣະໂຍທະນະ) ຈະເຜົາໄໝ້ດ້ວຍຄວາມເສຍໃຈພາຍໃນ ເມື່ອຮູ້ວ່າການກໍ່ສົງຄາມແມ່ນຄວາມຜິດພາດອັນໜັກ.»

Word by Word

शैक्येनwith a noose/loop (snare)

नागान्serpents/elephants (here: serpents as simile)

तरसाwith force, violently

विगृह्नन्seizing/dragging (while doing so)

यदाwhen

छेत्ताthe cutter, the slayer

धार्तराष्ट्रस्यof Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s (son), i.e., Duryodhana’s

सैन्यम्army

छिन्दन्cutting, hewing

वनम्a forest

परशुनाwith an axe

इवlike, as

शूरःthe hero/warrior

तदाthen

युद्धेin battle

धार्तराष्ट्रःDhṛtarāṣṭra’s son (Duryodhana)

अन्वतप्स्यत्would regret, would be pained afterward

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Duryodhana (implied as dhārtarāṣṭraḥ)

Bhīmasena (implied by the description of the heroic destroyer)

Kaurava army (dhārtarāṣṭrasya sainyam)

noose/snare (śaikya)

axe (paraśu)

forest (vana)

serpents (nāga, metaphor)

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?

Aggression rooted in pride and refusal of rightful settlement leads to catastrophic loss and inevitable remorse; the verse frames war as a moral and strategic blunder whose consequences cannot be undone once unleashed.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya foretells the battlefield outcome: Bhīma will tear through the Kaurava forces with overwhelming power, and Duryodhana—seeing his army shattered—will inwardly repent for having initiated the war.