Shloka 21

Devanagari script

तस्य ज्यातलनिर्घोषं विस्फूर्जितमिवाशने: । वित्रेसु: सर्वभूतानि सर्वे श्रुत्वा च पार्थिवा:,उनके धनुषकी टंकारथध्वनि वज्गनकी गड़गड़ाहटके समान जान पड़ती थी। उसे सुनकर सभी प्राणी और समस्त भूपाल डर गये

Transliteration

tasya jyātalanirghoṣaṁ visphūrjitam ivāśaneḥ | vitresuḥ sarvabhūtāni sarve śrutvā ca pārthivāḥ ||

Translation

त्याच्या धनुष्याच्या प्रत्यंचेचा घनघोर निनाद वज्रगर्जनेसारखा वाटत होता. तो ऐकून सर्व प्राणी थरथरले आणि सर्व राजेही भयभीत झाले.

Word by Word

तस्यof him/its

ज्यातलनिर्घोषम्the loud twang of the bowstring

विस्फूर्जितम्roared/resounded

इवas if/like

अशनेःof the thunderbolt (i.e., thunder)

वित्रेसुःtrembled/were frightened

सर्वभूतानिall beings

सर्वेall

श्रुत्वाhaving heard

चand

पार्थिवाःkings/earthly rulers

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

bowstring (jyā)

thunderbolt/thunder (aśani)

kings (pārthivāḥ)

all beings (sarvabhūtāni)

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 how power, when manifested in war, affects not only opponents but all living beings; it invites reflection on the ethical weight of violence and the responsibility borne by rulers and warriors whose actions shake the world around them.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the terrifying, thunder-like twang of a warrior’s bow; the sound spreads across the battlefield, causing all creatures and the assembled kings to tremble in fear, signaling the intensity of the impending combat.