Shloka 16

Adhyāya 18 — Sequential Duels and Formation Pressure

Ulūka–Yuyutsu; Śakuni–Sutasoma; Kṛpa–Dhṛṣṭadyumna; Kṛtavarmā–Śikhaṇḍin

Devanagari script

अनेकैश्न शिलाधौतैर्वज्ञाशनिविषोपमै: । शरैर्निजध्निवान्‌ पार्थों महेन्द्र इव दानवान्‌

Transliteration

anekaiś ca śilādhautair vajrāśaniviṣopamaiḥ | śaraiḥ nijaghnivān pārtho mahendra iva dānavān ||

Translation

ਸੰਜਯ ਨੇ ਆਖਿਆ—ਤਦ ਪਾਰਥ (ਅਰਜੁਨ) ਨੇ ਪੱਥਰ ਉੱਤੇ ਤਿੱਖੇ ਕੀਤੇ, ਵਜ੍ਰ, ਅਸ਼ਨੀ ਅਤੇ ਵਿਸ਼ ਵਰਗੀ ਘਾਤਕ ਤਾਕਤ ਵਾਲੇ ਅਨੇਕ ਬਾਣਾਂ ਨਾਲ ਉਹਨਾਂ ਵੀਰਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਢਾਹ ਦਿੱਤਾ; ਜਿਵੇਂ ਦੇਵਰਾਜ ਮਹੇਂਦਰ ਦਾਨਵਾਂ ਦਾ ਨਾਸ ਕਰਦਾ ਹੈ।

Word by Word

• अनेकैः: with many
• अनेकैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनेक
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• शिलाधौतैः: sharpened/polished on a whetstone
• शिलाधौतैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिलाधौत
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• वज्राशनि-विषोपमैः: like a thunderbolt, lightning, and poison
• वज्राशनि-विषोपमैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वज्राशनिविषोपम
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• निजघ्निवान्: slew/struck down
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-हन्
• Form: Perfect (Paroksha), 3rd, Singular

• पार्थः: Partha (Arjuna)
• पार्थः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• महेन्द्रः: Mahendra (great Indra)
• महेन्द्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महेन्द्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

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

• दानवान्: demons (Danavas)
• दानवान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दानव
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Pārtha (Arjuna)
• Mahendra (Indra)
• Dānavas
• arrows (śara)
• vajra (thunderbolt)
• aśani (lightning)
• viṣa (poison)
• whetstone/stone (śilā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the ideal of kṣatriya prowess exercised as battlefield duty: Arjuna’s force is depicted as Indra-like—overwhelming and decisive—yet framed as action within the ordained role of a warrior in a dharmic conflict, not as gratuitous violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates that Arjuna (Pārtha) kills opposing fighters using many stone-honed arrows, whose deadliness is compared to Indra’s thunderbolt, lightning, and poison; the simile presents Arjuna as a near-divine destroyer of foes, like Indra against the Dānavas.