Mahabharata 7.116.13 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 116, Shloka 13

Śaineya’s Breakthrough and Reunion with Arjuna (शैनेयस्य समागमः)

Devanagari script

योधाक्षय्यजलं भीम॑ वाहनोर्मितरज्धिणम्‌ । क्षेपण्यसिगदाशक्तिशरप्रासझषाकुलम्‌

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | yodhākṣayyajalaṃ bhīmaṃ vāhanormitarajdhiṇam | kṣepaṇy-asigadāśaktiśaraprāsajhaṣākulam ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai Raja, tenteraku tampak seperti samudera yang menggerunkan. Para pahlawan ialah airnya yang tidak susut; kereta perang, kuda dan tunggangan lain ialah gelombangnya yang bergulung. Ia sarat dengan ‘ikan’ berupa senjata—peluru lontar, pedang, gada, lembing, anak panah dan tombak. Panji-panji dan perhiasan terkumpul di dalamnya bagaikan permata. Kenderaan yang meluru pantas itulah hembusan angin, yang membuat samudera tentera ini bergetar dan bergelora.”

Word by Word

• योध: warriors
• योध: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: योध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• अक्षय्य: inexhaustible
• अक्षय्य: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अक्षय्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• जलम्: water
• जलम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: जल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• भीम: terrible
• भीम: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भीम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• वाहन: vehicles (chariots etc.)
• वाहन: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाहन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• ऊर्मि: waves
• ऊर्मि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: ऊर्मि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• तरङ्गिणम्: wave-filled, having waves
• तरङ्गिणम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तरङ्गिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• क्षेपणि: missiles/throwables
• क्षेपणि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षेपणि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• असि: swords
• असि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: असि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• गदा: maces
• गदा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• शक्ति: spears/javelins (śakti-weapon)
• शक्ति: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शक्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• शर: arrows
• शर: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• प्रास: lances
• प्रास: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रास (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• झष: fish
• झष: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: झष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• आकुलम्: crowded, filled with
• आकुलम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आकुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• संजय: O Sañjaya
• Type: Noun
• Root: संजय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• the Kaurava army (implied as ‘my army’)
• weapons: kṣepaṇīya (missiles), asi (sword), gadā (mace), śakti (spear/javelin), śara (arrows), prāsa (lance)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses a powerful ocean-metaphor to convey the overwhelming, consuming nature of war: when violence becomes ‘inexhaustible’ like water, individual lives are swept up like creatures in a turbulent sea. The ethical undertone is cautionary—war’s magnitude and momentum can eclipse discernment and compassion.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating the battle to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, depicts the Kaurava host as a terrifying ocean—warriors as waters, vehicles as waves, and weapons as fish—emphasizing the scale and ferocity of the ongoing combat in Droṇa Parva.