Shloka 34

Gadāyuddhe Kṛṣṇopadeśaḥ (Kṛṣṇa’s Counsel in the Mace-Duel) — Śalya-parva 57

Devanagari script

गदामारुतवेगं हि दृष्टवा तस्य महात्मन:

Transliteration

gadāmārutavegaṁ hi dṛṣṭvā tasya mahātmanaḥ

Translation

സഞ്ജയൻ പറഞ്ഞു—ആ മഹാത്മാവിന്റെ ഗദ കാറ്റിന്റെ വേഗത്തിൽ പായുന്നതു കണ്ടവർ വിസ്മയത്തിൽ മുങ്ങി.

Word by Word

• गदा-मारुत-वेगम्: the speed (vega) of the wind (māruta) (as) of a mace (gadā) / mace-like wind-speed
• गदा-मारुत-वेगम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गदा + मारुत + वेग
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• हि: indeed, for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral here)

• तस्य: of him / his
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• महात्मनः: of the great-souled one
• Type: Noun
• Root: महात्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• gadā (mace)
• mahātman (the great-souled warrior, unnamed in this half-verse)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line highlights the awe-inspiring force of martial skill, while implicitly reminding the reader that extraordinary power in war is ethically ambivalent: it can display greatness, yet it also accelerates destruction, pressing the listener to reflect on dharma amid violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a great warrior’s mace in motion—so swift it is likened to the wind—setting the scene for an intense exchange in the Shalya Parva’s late-war battles.