Shloka 23

अर्जुनागमनम्

Arjuna’s Arrival and Reunion on the Sacred Mountain

Devanagari script

प्रत्यक्ष॑ सर्वभूतानां नदीमश्चरथां प्रति । खाण्डवे सत्यसंधेन भ्रात्रा तव महात्मना,तवापि सुमहत्‌ तेजो महद्‌ बाहुबलं च ते । अविषदहामनाधृुष्यं शक्रतुल्यपराक्रम “आर्यपुत्र! तुम्हारा पराक्रम भी इन्द्रके ही समान है। तुम्हारा तेज और बाहुबल भी महान्‌ है। वह दूसरोंके लिये दुःसह एवं दुर्धर्ष है

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca |

pratyakṣaṃ sarvabhūtānāṃ nadīm aścarathāṃ prati |

khāṇḍave satyasaṃdhena bhrātrā tava mahātmanā |

tavāpi sumahat tejo mahad bāhubalaṃ ca te |

aviṣahyam anādhṛṣyaṃ śakratulya-parākramam ||

Translation

വൈശമ്പായനൻ പറഞ്ഞു—സകല ജീവികളും കണ്ണുകൊണ്ട് കാണെ നീ നദിയിലേക്കു നീങ്ങി. ഖാണ്ഡവ വനത്തിൽ നിന്റെ മഹാത്മാവായ, സത്യസന്ധനായ സഹോദരൻ നിന്റെ പരാക്രമം പ്രസ്ഫുടമാക്കി. നിന്റെ തേജസ് അതിമഹത്താണ്; നിന്റെ ഭുജബലവും അപാരം; അത് മറ്റുള്ളവർക്ക് അസഹ്യം, അജേയ്യം; നിന്റെ വീര്യം ഇന്ദ്രസമം.

Word by Word

• {'vaiśampāyana uvāca': 'Vaiśampāyana said', 'pratyakṣam': 'directly, before one’s eyes

• manifestly', 'sarvabhūtānām': 'of all beings/creatures', 'nadīm': 'to the river', 'aścarathām prati': 'toward (in the direction of) the Aścarathā (river-name as read in this pāṭha)', 'khāṇḍave': 'in Khāṇḍava (forest/region)', 'satyasaṃdhena': 'by one steadfast in truth/vows

• true to his pledge', 'bhrātrā': 'by (your) brother', 'tava': 'your', 'mahātmanā': 'great-souled, noble-minded', 'tavāpi': 'and yours too', 'sumahat': 'very great', 'tejaḥ': 'splendor, spiritual/heroic radiance, power', 'bāhubalam': 'strength of arms

• martial might', 'aviṣahyam': 'unendurable, hard to bear (for opponents)', 'anādhṛṣyam': 'unassailable, not to be overpowered', 'śakratulya-parākramam': 'having valor equal to Śakra (Indra)'}

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Khāṇḍava (forest)
• Śakra (Indra)
• the addressed person (tava)
• the brother described as satyasaṃdha (likely Arjuna in Khāṇḍava context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse praises righteous, vow-steadfast heroism: true power is not mere force but a radiance grounded in satya (truth/keeping one’s pledge), making one’s valor ‘unassailable’ in both ethical and martial senses.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a public, witnessed movement toward a river and recalls the Khāṇḍava context, where the addressee’s great-souled, vow-true brother demonstrated extraordinary might; the addressee is likewise praised as Indra-like in valor, splendor, and arm-strength.