Mahabharata 11.21.5 — Stree Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 5

अध्याय २१ — गान्धार्या वैकर्तनदर्शनम्

Gāndhārī’s Viewing of Vaikartana/Karṇa

Devanagari script

शार्टूलमिव सिंहेन समरे सव्यसाचिना । मातड़मिव मत्तेन मातड्रेन निपातितम्‌

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | śārṭūlam iva siṃhena samare savyasācinā | mātaṅgam iva mattena mātaṅgreṇa nipātitam ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana berkata: Dalam pertempuran, Savyasācin Arjuna menumbangkan wira itu sebagaimana singa menjatuhkan harimau, atau sebagaimana gajah yang mabuk musth menewaskan seekor gajah perkasa yang lain. Gambaran ini menegaskan simetri ngeri peperangan: pahlawan agung bertemu pahlawan agung, dan keperkasaan menjadi ukuran maut di medan laga.

Word by Word

• शार्दूलम्: a tiger
• शार्दूलम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शार्दूल
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• इव: like/as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• सिंहेन: by a lion
• सिंहेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिंह
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• समरे: in battle
• समरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समर
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• सव्यसाचिना: by Savyasācin (Arjuna, ambidextrous archer)
• सव्यसाचिना: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सव्यसाचिन्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• मातङ्गम्: an elephant
• मातङ्गम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मातङ्ग
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• इव: like/as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• मत्तेन: by an intoxicated (one)
• मत्तेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मत्त
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• मातङ्गेन: by an elephant
• मातङ्गेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मातङ्ग
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• निपातितम्: felled/struck down
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-पत्
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Arjuna (Savyasācin)
• lion (siṃha)
• tiger (śārṭūla)
• elephant (mātaṅga)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the grim ethic of kṣatriya warfare: equals confront equals, and martial excellence becomes both glory and ruin. The similes intensify the sense that in war even the mightiest fall, foreshadowing the sorrow that defines the Strī Parva.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a warrior being slain by Arjuna in battle, using two parallel comparisons—lion vs. tiger and rutting elephant vs. elephant—to convey the force and inevitability of the kill among great combatants.