Shloka 28

Devanagari script

एते पर्वतशृज्ञाणां तुल्या हैमवता गजा: । संछिन्नकुम्भा: पार्थेन प्रपतन्त्यद्रयो यथा

Transliteration

ete parvataśṛṅgāṇāṃ tulyā haimavatā gajāḥ | saṃchinnakumbhāḥ pārthena prapatanty adrayo yathā ||

Translation

Disse Arjuna: “Estes elefantes da região do Himālaya, que se erguem como picos de montanha, agora desabam como penhascos que se desprendem do monte — Pārtha (Arjuna) lhes decepou os globos frontais.”

Word by Word

• एते: these
• एते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: एतद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पर्वत-शृङ्गाणाम्: of mountain-peaks
• पर्वत-शृङ्गाणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर्वतशृङ्ग
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Plural

• तुल्याः: equal, like
• तुल्याः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तुल्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• हैमवताः: Himalayan
• हैमवताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हैमवत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• गजाः: elephants
• गजाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• संछिन्न-कुम्भाः: whose temples are cut off
• संछिन्न-कुम्भाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संछिन्नकुम्भ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पार्थेन: by Partha (Arjuna)
• पार्थेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• प्रपतन्ति: fall down
• Type: Verb
• Root: पत्
• Form: Present, Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• अद्रयः: mountains
• अद्रयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अद्रि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• यथा: as, like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna (Pārtha)
• Himavat (Himalaya region)
• Elephants (gajāḥ)
• Mountain peaks/crags (parvataśṛṅga, adrayaḥ)
• Elephant frontal globes/temples (kumbha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the terrifying scale of war and the kṣatriya battlefield ethos: martial prowess, when unleashed, brings down even the mightiest forces. Ethically, it highlights the tragic grandeur of combat—strength and stature offer no immunity when duty-driven violence prevails.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the thick of battle, Arjuna’s arrows strike down massive Himalayan elephants. With their frontal globes (kumbhas) cut, they topple like mountain crags, emphasizing both the elephants’ enormity and Arjuna’s overwhelming effectiveness.