Shloka 21

Kuru-Sainika-Āśvāsana and Vijayaghoṣaṇa

Reassuring the Kuru Soldiers; Proclaiming Victory

Devanagari script

शरसंघमहावर्ता नागनक्रां दुरत्ययाम्‌ । महारथमहाद्वीपां शड्खदुन्दुभिनि:स्वनाम्‌ | चकार च तदा पार्थों नदीं दुस्तरशोणिताम्‌

Transliteration

śarasaṅgha-mahāvartā nāga-nakrāṁ duratyayām | mahāratha-mahādvīpāṁ śaṅkha-dundubhi-niḥsvanām || cakāra ca tadā pārtho nadīṁ dustara-śoṇitām |

Translation

ໄວສັມປາຍະນະ ກ່າວວ່າ: ແລ້ວພາຣຖະ (ອາຣຊຸນ) ໄດ້ສ້າງແມ່ນ້ຳເລືອດຢູ່ທີ່ນັ້ນ ທີ່ຂ້າມໄດ້ຍາກ. ວົງນ້ຳວຽນໃຫຍ່ໆຂອງມັນແມ່ນກອງລູກສອນ; ຊ້າງ ແລະສັດຮ້າຍດັ່ງນາກ-ນະຄຣະ (ຈະເຂ້) ເຮັດໃຫ້ການຜ່ານພົ້ນເປັນອັນຕະລາຍ. ລົດຮົບໃຫຍ່ໆຢືນຢູ່ໃນນ້ຳດັ່ງເກາະມະຫາໃຫຍ່; ແລະສຽງສັງຂະ ແລະກອງກະຫຼອງສົງຄາມ (ດຸນດຸບິ) ກາຍເປັນສຽງຄຳຮ້ອງຂອງແມ່ນ້ຳເອງ. ດັ່ງນັ້ນ ອາຣຊຸນໄດ້ເຮັດໃຫ້ເກີດແມ່ນ້ຳເລືອດອັນຍາກຈະຂ້າມ. ພາບນີ້ຊີ້ວ່າ ການຮົບທີ່ຖືກຂັບເຄື່ອນໂດຍໜ້າທີ່ນັກຮົບ ປ່ຽນສະໜາມໃຫ້ເປັນພູມທັດອັນນ່າຢ້ານ ທີ່ຄວາມຮຸນແຮງຂອງມະນຸດມີພະລັງດັ່ງທຳມະຊາດ.

Word by Word

• शर-संघ-महा-आवर्ताः: having great whirlpools made of masses of arrows
• शर-संघ-महा-आवर्ताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आवर्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• नाग-नक्रान्: elephants and crocodiles
• नाग-नक्रान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नागनक्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• दुरत्ययाम्: hard to cross
• दुरत्ययाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुरत्यया (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• महा-रथ-महा-द्वीपाम्: having great chariots as great islands
• महा-रथ-महा-द्वीपाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वीप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• शङ्ख-दुन्दुभि-निःस्वनाम्: having the sound of conches and kettle-drums
• शङ्ख-दुन्दुभि-निःस्वनाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निःस्वन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• चकार: made/created
• चकार: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च (अव्यय)

• तदा: then
• तदा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा (अव्यय)

• पार्थः: Pārtha (Arjuna)
• पार्थः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नदीम्: a river
• नदीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नदी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• दुस्तर-शोणिताम्: blood(-river) difficult to cross
• दुस्तर-शोणिताम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शोणिता (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Pārtha (Arjuna)
• arrows
• elephants
• crocodiles (nakra)
• chariots
• conches (śaṅkha)
• war-drums (dundubhi)
• river of blood (śoṇita-nadī)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses a powerful metaphor to show the moral weight and terrifying consequences of warfare: when a warrior fulfills kṣatriya-duty, the battlefield can become like a natural catastrophe—suggesting both the inevitability of conflict in certain dharmic contexts and the grave human cost that accompanies it.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes Arjuna’s overwhelming martial prowess: his arrows, chariots, and the din of conches and drums are poetically recast as features of a fearsome ‘river of blood’—with whirlpools, crocodiles, and islands—emphasizing how difficult it is for enemies to withstand or cross his onslaught.