Shloka 63

Devanagari script

तं शिखण्डी रणे यान्तमभ्यद्रवत दंशित:

Transliteration

taṃ śikhaṇḍī raṇe yāntam abhyadravat daṃśitaḥ

Translation

യുദ്ധഭൂമിയിൽ മുന്നേറുന്ന അവനെ കണ്ടു, കവചധാരിയായ ശിഖണ്ഡി അവന്റെ നേരെ പാഞ്ഞെത്തി।

Word by Word

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• शिखण्डी: Shikhandi
• शिखण्डी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिखण्डिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• रणे: in battle
• रणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रण
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• यान्तम्: going, advancing
• यान्तम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: या
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अभ्यद्रवत्: ran towards, rushed at
• Type: Verb
• Root: द्रु
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• दंशितः: armed, accoutred (in armor)
• दंशितः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दंशित
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Śikhaṇḍī
• battlefield (raṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how dharma in war is tested not only by courage but by choices shaped by prior vows and ethical constraints. Śikhaṇḍī’s direct charge represents strategic action within a morally complex battlefield where personal principles can become tactical vulnerabilities.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates that Śikhaṇḍī, fully armed, rushes toward an advancing opponent on the battlefield. In the broader Bhīṣma-focused context of this section, Śikhaṇḍī’s advance signals a decisive engagement aimed at exploiting Bhīṣma’s reluctance to fight Śikhaṇḍī.