Shloka 23

गान्धारी-प्रशमनम् — Pacification of Gāndhārī and Kṛṣṇa’s Counsel at Hāstinapura

Devanagari script

क्षिप्रमुत्ततकालानि कुरु कार्याणि भारत | उपायातमुपप्लव्यं सह गाण्डीवधन्चना

Transliteration

kṣipram uttatakālāni kuru kāryāṇi bhārata | upāyātam upaplavyam saha gāṇḍīvadhanvanā

Translation

Vāyu disse: “Ó Bhārata, age depressa e faz, sem demora, o que deve ser feito. Arjuna, o portador do Gāṇḍīva, chegou—pronto para ser levado ao fragor da batalha.”

Word by Word

क्षिप्रम्quickly

उत्ततकालानिurgent/time-critical

कुरुdo

कार्याणिtasks, duties

भारतO Bharata

उपायातम्arrived, come near

उपप्लव्यम्to Upaplavya (place-name)

सहtogether with

गाण्डीवधन्वनाwith the wielder of the Gāṇḍīva bow (Arjuna)

Speaker

वायुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vāyu (Wind-god)

Bhārata (addressee, a Kuru descendant)

Arjuna

Gāṇḍīva (Arjuna’s bow)

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 urges prompt, decisive performance of one’s necessary duty when the moment has arrived—especially in a crisis where hesitation can undermine righteous purpose and collective safety.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāyu addresses a Kuru hero (“Bhārata”), pressing him to act immediately, noting that Arjuna—identified by his famed bow Gāṇḍīva—has arrived and is ready to be deployed in the unfolding battle situation.