Shloka 88

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

Devanagari script

धनुरन्यत्‌ समादाय शिखण्डी तु महायशा: । अवारयन्‌ कूर्मनखैराशुगै्दिकात्मजम्‌,तत्पश्चात्‌ महायशस्वी शिखण्डीने भी दूसरा धनुष लेकर कछुओंके नखोंके समान धारवाले बाणोंद्वारा कृतवर्माका सामना किया

Transliteration

dhanur anyat samādāya śikhaṇḍī tu mahāyaśāḥ | avārayan kūrmanakhair āśugair dikātmajam ||

Translation

ਫਿਰ ਮਹਾ-ਯਸ਼ਸਵੀ ਸ਼ਿਖੰਡੀ ਨੇ ਵੀ ਹੋਰ ਧਨੁਸ਼ ਚੁੱਕਿਆ ਅਤੇ ਕੱਛੂਏ ਦੇ ਨਖਾਂ ਵਰਗੇ ਤਿੱਖੇ ਅਗਲੇ ਵਾਲੇ ਤੇਜ਼ ਬਾਣਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਦਿਕਾਤਮਜ ਕ੍ਰਿਤਵਰਮਾ ਨੂੰ ਰੋਕ ਲਿਆ।

Word by Word

धनुःbow

अन्यत्another

समादायhaving taken up

शिखण्डीShikhandi

तुbut/indeed

महायशाःof great fame

अवारयत्checked/stopped/warded off

कूर्मनखैःwith (arrows) like tortoise-claws

आशुगैःswift

दिकात्मजम्the son of Dik (i.e., Kritavarman, as per some readings/tradition)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Śikhaṇḍī

Kṛtavarmā (Dikātmaja)

bow (dhanus)

arrows (āśu; kūrmanakha-śara implied)

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?

Within the battlefield ethic of kṣatriya-dharma, the verse highlights steadiness and adaptability: when challenged, a warrior does not collapse into panic but re-equips and responds with controlled, skillful resistance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Śikhaṇḍī takes up a different bow and confronts Kṛtavarmā, holding him back with rapid, sharply pointed arrows likened to tortoise claws.