Shloka 5

Devanagari script

नरश्रेष्ठ नरेश्वर! कृपाचार्य आदि आपके रथी वीरोंने अपने उत्तम बाणोंद्वारा प्रहार करते हुए वहाँ पाण्डव-पक्षके उन ग्यारह महारथी वीरोंको आगे बढ़नेसे रोक दिया। तत्पश्चात्‌ कुलिन्ददेशके योधा नूतन मेघके समान काले, पर्वतशिखरोंके समान विशालकाय और भयंकर वेगशाली हाथियोंद्वारा कौरववीरोंपर चढ़ आये ।।

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | naraśreṣṭha nareśvara! kṛpācārya-ādayaḥ tava rathī vīrāḥ svair uttamaiḥ bāṇaiḥ praharantaḥ tatra pāṇḍava-pakṣasya tān ekādaśa mahārathān vīrān agre gantuṃ nivārayām āsuḥ | tataḥ kulinda-deśasya yodhāḥ nūtana-megha-samānāḥ kālāḥ parvata-śikhara-samānāḥ viśāla-kāyāḥ bhayaṅkara-vega-śālinaḥ hastibhiḥ kaurava-vīreṣu samāruhya abhyapatanta || sukalpitā haimavatā madotkaṭā raṇābhikāmaiḥ kṛtibhiḥ samāsthitāḥ | suvarṇa-jālair avitatā babhur gajāḥ tathā yathā khe jaladāḥ savidyutaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya disse: “Ó melhor dos homens, ó rei! Kṛpa e os demais guerreiros de carro do teu lado, golpeando com suas melhores flechas, detiveram aqueles onze grandes campeões do exército Pāṇḍava e impediram que avançassem. Então os combatentes da terra de Kulinda investiram contra os heróis Kaurava, montados em elefantes escuros como nuvens recém-formadas, enormes como picos de montanha e de carga terrível pela velocidade. Esses elefantes himalaicos, esplendidamente ajaezados e embriagados de musth, traziam sobre o dorso guerreiros kulindas hábeis e ávidos de batalha; cobertos por redes de ouro, brilhavam no campo como nuvens de tempestade no céu riscadas de relâmpagos.”

Word by Word

• सुकल्पिताः: well-adorned / well-arranged
• सुकल्पिताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुकल्पित (सु-कल्पित)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• हैमवताः: from Himavat (Himalayan)
• हैमवताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हैमवत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• मदोत्कटाः: fierce with rut/intoxication
• मदोत्कटाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मदोत्कट (मद-उत्कट)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• रणाभिकामैः: by those desirous of battle
• रणाभिकामैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रणाभिकाम (रण-अभिकाम)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• कृतिभिः: by skilled/able men
• कृतिभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृति
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• समास्थिताः: mounted/positioned (having taken their places)
• समास्थिताः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: समास्थित (सम्-आ-स्था)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सुवर्णजालैः: with golden nets
• सुवर्णजालैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुवर्णजाल (सुवर्ण-जाल)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• अवितताः: covered/spread over
• अवितताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अवितत (अव-तन्)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• बभुः: they became / appeared
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू
• Form: Perfect, 3, Plural

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

• तथा: thus / in that manner
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• यथा: as / just as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

• खे: in the sky
• खे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ख
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• जलदाः: clouds
• जलदाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: जलद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सविद्युतः: with lightning
• सविद्युतः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सविद्युत् (स-विद्युत्)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Dhritarashtra (implied addressee: nareśvara)
• Kripacharya
• Kaurava warriors
• Pandava faction
• Eleven Maharathas (Pandava side)
• Kulinda warriors
• Kulinda-desha
• Himavat/Himalaya region
• War elephants
• Golden netting/caparison (suvarṇa-jāla)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how disciplined resistance and coordinated force can halt even elite opponents; ethically, it underscores the epic’s tension between valor and the destructive momentum of war, where skill and spectacle (ornamented elephants, heroic ranks) serve a grim purpose.

What is happening in the narrative?

Kripa and other Kaurava chariot-warriors block the advance of eleven Pandava great warriors with concentrated arrow-fire. Immediately after, Kulinda fighters charge the Kauravas atop massive, musth-elephants from the Himalayan region, richly adorned, compared to thunderclouds with lightning.