Shloka 23

Devanagari script

गदाभिरसिभश्रि: प्रासैर्बाणैश्न नतपर्वभि: । जघ्नु: परस्परं तत्र क्षत्रिया: काल आगते,क्षत्रियगण गदा, खड्ग, प्रास तथा झुकी हुई गाँठवाले बाणोंद्वारा एक-दूसरेको मार रहे थे; क्योंकि उन सबका काल आ गया था

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

gadābhir asibhiḥ śṛṅgaiḥ prāsair bāṇaiś ca nataparvabhiḥ |

jaghnur parasparaṃ tatra kṣatriyāḥ kāla āgate ||

Translation

Disse Sañjaya: Ali, os guerreiros kṣatriya abatiam-se uns aos outros—com maças, espadas, armas de ponta cornuda, lanças e flechas de juntas recurvadas—pois o Tempo marcado (a Morte) havia chegado sobre eles.

Word by Word

गदाभिःwith maces

असिभिःwith swords

ऋषिभिःwith sages

प्रासैःwith spears

बाणैःwith arrows

नतपर्वभिःwith (arrows) having bent joints/knots

जघ्नुःthey slew

परस्परम्one another

तत्रthere

क्षत्रियाःthe Kshatriyas/warriors

कालेwhen the time (of death) had come

आगतेhaving come/arrived

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

kṣatriyas

gadā (mace)

asi (sword)

śṛṅga (horned weapon)

prāsa (spear)

bāṇa (arrow)

kāla (Time/Death)

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 the inevitability of mortality and the overpowering force of kāla (Time/Death): when destiny matures, even the disciplined warrior order (kṣatriya-dharma) culminates in mutual destruction, reminding the listener of impermanence and the grave cost of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield scene where kṣatriya warriors are killing one another with various weapons—maces, swords, spears, and arrows—because their fated end has arrived.