Shloka 8

Devanagari script

इमौ तौ परिघप्रख्यौ भुजी मम दुरासदौ,ययोरन्तरमासाद्य धार्तराष्ट्रा: क्षयं गता: । “देखो, ये हैं मेरे दोनों परिघके समान सुदृढ़ एवं दुर्जय बाहुदण्ड; जिनके बीचमें पड़कर धृतराष्ट्रके बेटे पिस गये हैं

Transliteration

imau tau parighaprakhyau bhujī mama durāsadau, yayor antaram āsādya dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ kṣayaṃ gatāḥ |

Translation

ଦେଖ, ମୋର ଏହି ଦୁଇ ଭୁଜା ପରିଘସଦୃଶ, ସୁଦୃଢ଼ ଓ ଦୁରାସଦ; ଯାହାଙ୍କ ମଧ୍ୟରେ ପଡ଼ି ଧୃତରାଷ୍ଟ୍ରଙ୍କ ପୁତ୍ରମାନେ ପିଷ୍ଟ ହୋଇ କ୍ଷୟକୁ ଗଲେ।

Word by Word

इमौthese two

तौthose two

परिघप्रख्यौresembling iron bars/clubs

भुजीarms

ममmy

दुरासदौhard to approach/assail

ययोःof which two (between whom)

अन्तरम्the space/between

आसाद्यhaving reached/coming into

धार्तराष्ट्राःthe sons of Dhritarashtra

क्षयम्destruction

गताःwent/attained

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Dhārtarāṣṭrāḥ (Kauravas)

parigha (iron club/bar)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the ethical burden of power: martial strength, even when exercised within a warrior’s duty, leaves a lasting imprint of destruction. It invites reflection on how victory in war can carry grief, responsibility, and moral reckoning.

What is happening in the narrative?

The narrator reports a statement pointing to the speaker’s own arms—likened to crushing clubs—as the means by which the Dhārtarāṣṭras (Kauravas) met their end, emphasizing the physical inevitability and tragic finality of their destruction.