Shloka 23

Devanagari script

संधाय च शरं दीप्तमभिमन्त्रय स पाण्डव: पर्जन्यास्त्रेण संयोज्य सर्वलोकस्य पश्यत:

Transliteration

sandhāya ca śaraṃ dīptam abhimantrya sa pāṇḍavaḥ parjanyāstreṇa saṃyojya sarvalokasya paśyataḥ

Translation

പാണ്ഡവൻ അർജുനൻ ദീപ്തമായ അമ്പ് സംധാനം ചെയ്ത് മന്ത്രം ചൊല്ലി അഭിമന്ത്രിച്ചു, പർജന്യാസ്ത്രവുമായി സംയോജിപ്പിച്ചു—സകലരും നോക്കിനിൽക്കെ.

Word by Word

संधायhaving fixed/aimed (having set)

चand

शरम्arrow

दीप्तम्blazing, radiant

अभिमन्त्रयconsecrate/chant over (it)

सःhe

पाण्डवःthe Pandava (Arjuna)

पर्जन्यास्त्रेणwith the rain-weapon (Parjanya-astra)

संयोज्यhaving joined/combined (it)

सर्वलोकस्यof the whole world

पश्यतःwhile (it/they) were watching; of the onlooker

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Pāṇḍava

śara (arrow)

Parjanya-astra

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 that extraordinary power in war—especially mantra-invoked astras—must be exercised with awareness and accountability, since such acts affect not only opponents but the wider world that witnesses and bears the consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a Pāṇḍava warrior prepares a blazing arrow, sanctifies it with mantra, and then deploys it as the Parjanya-astra (a rain/thunder-related divine weapon), doing so openly before all onlookers.