Shloka 296

Devanagari script

चुक्षुभे भरतश्रेष्ठ तिमिनेव नदीमुखम्‌ । भरतश्रेष्ठ! जैसे तिमिनामक मत्स्य नदीके प्रवाहको विक्षुब्ध कर देता है, उसी प्रकार द्रोणपुत्रके द्वारा संतप्त की हुई पाण्डव-सेनामें हलचल मच गयी

Transliteration

cukṣubhe bharataśreṣṭha timineva nadīmukham |

Translation

Disse Sañjaya: “Ó melhor dos Bhāratas, o exército dos Pāṇḍavas—escaldado e acossado pelo filho de Droṇa—foi lançado ao tumulto, como o grande peixe chamado Timi que revolve e agita a foz de um rio.”

Word by Word

चुक्षुभेwas agitated / became turbulent

भरतश्रेष्ठO best of the Bharatas

तिमिनाby a timi (a large fish/whale)

इवlike / as

नदीमुखम्the river-mouth / river-current (at the mouth)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Bharataśreṣṭha (address to Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

Droṇaputra (Aśvatthāmā)

Pāṇḍavas (their army)

Timi (fish/creature)

nadīmukha (river-mouth)

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 destabilizing power of concentrated aggression: when a force like Droṇa’s son strikes relentlessly, even a large army can lose cohesion. Ethically, it points to how war magnifies fear and disorder, testing discipline and dharma under extreme pressure.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Aśvatthāmā’s assault has ‘scorched’ the Pāṇḍava forces, causing widespread commotion—likened to a great fish (Timi) churning the turbulent river-mouth.