Shloka 51

Adhyāya 104 — Śikhaṇḍin-puraskāraḥ (Śikhaṇḍin as Vanguard) and Bhīṣma’s Counter-Advance

Devanagari script

पुनश्चैनं शरैघोरिश्छादयामास भारत । निदाघान्ते महाराज यथा मेघो दिवाकरम्‌

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

punaścainaṃ śaraiḥ ghoraḥ chādayāmāsa bhārata |

nidāghānte mahārāja yathā megho divākaram ||

Translation

Санджая сказал: О Бхарата, вновь тот свирепый воин покрыл его страшными стрелами — как в конце знойной поры туча заслоняет солнце, о царь. Этот образ подчёркивает: на войне подавляющая сила способна на миг затмить даже присутствие храбреца, испытывая стойкость и решимость среди смятения.

Word by Word

• पुनः: again
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• एनम्: him (this one)
• एनम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम् (एतद्)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• घोरैः: terrible
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• छादयामास: covered, enveloped
• Type: Verb
• Root: छाद्
• Form: Perfect (Periphrastic), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• भारत: O Bharata
• Type: Noun (vocative epithet)
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• निदाघान्ते: at the end of summer
• निदाघान्ते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: निदाघान्त
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun (vocative epithet)
• Root: महाराज
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

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

• मेघः: a cloud
• मेघः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मेघ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• दिवाकरम्: the sun
• दिवाकरम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिवाकर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (addressed as Bhārata, Mahārāja)
• Sātyaki
• megha (cloud)
• divākara (sun)
• śara (arrows)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights endurance under overwhelming pressure: in righteous warfare (kṣatriya-dharma), a warrior may be ‘eclipsed’ by adversity, yet the ethical demand is steadiness and continued resolve rather than collapse or panic.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a fierce fighter again showers Sātyaki with terrible arrows, enveloping him—likened to a cloud covering the sun at the end of summer—signaling an intense phase of the battle where one combatant temporarily dominates.