Shloka 30

Devanagari script

पादातास्त्वग्रतो5गच्छन्नसिशक्त्यूष्टिपाणय: । अनेकशतसाहस््रा भीमसेनस्य रक्षिण:,भीमसेनकी रक्षाके लिये उनके आगे-आगे हाथोंमें खड़ग, शक्ति तथा ऋष्टि लिये कई लाख पैदल सैनिक चल रहे थे

Transliteration

pādātās tv agrato ’gacchann asi-śakty-ṛṣṭi-pāṇayaḥ | aneka-śata-sahasrā bhīmasenasya rakṣiṇaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya disse: À frente de Bhīmasena marchavam soldados de infantaria em número imenso—centenas de milhares—empunhando espadas, lanças e dardos, designados para guardá-lo (rakṣā) enquanto ele avançava para a batalha. A cena ressalta a extraordinária importância marcial atribuída a Bhīma e o dever de proteção assumido por seus homens em meio aos perigos da guerra.

Word by Word

पादाताःfoot-soldiers

तुbut/indeed

अग्रतःin front/ahead

अगच्छन्went/were going

असिsword

शक्तिspear/javelin

ऋष्टिlance/pike

पाणयःhands (i.e., men with hands holding weapons)

अनेकmany

शतhundred

सहस्राःthousands (i.e., many hundreds of thousands)

भीमसेनस्यof Bhimasena

रक्षिणःguards/protectors

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bhīmasena (Bhīma)

pādātāḥ (infantry)

asi (sword)

śakti (spear/javelin)

Ṛ

ṛṣṭi (lance/pike)

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?

The verse highlights rakṣā (protective duty) as a concrete expression of dharma in wartime: those assigned to guard a key warrior must act with vigilance and readiness, placing collective responsibility above individual display.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield movement: a large contingent of infantry, armed with swords, spears, and lances, marches ahead of Bhīmasena as his protective screen, indicating Bhīma’s strategic importance and the intensity of the coming clash.