Shloka 2

Śālva’s Elephant Assault and the Counterstroke (शाल्वस्य नागारूढाभ्यवहारः)

Devanagari script

वणिजो नावि भिन्नायां यथागाधेडप्लवे<र्णवे । अपारे पतिमच्छन्तो हते शूरे महात्मना

Transliteration

vaṇijo nāvi bhinnāyāṃ yathāgādhe ’ḍaplave ’rṇave | apāre patim acchanto hate śūre mahātmanā ||

Translation

Санджая сказал: «Как купцы, когда их корабль разбит в глубинах безбрежного океана, беспомощно ищут покровителя, так и тогда, когда был сражён тот герой, великий духом, воины, лишённые опоры, озирались в поисках вождя, который спас бы их и удержал в стойкости.»

Word by Word

वणिजःmerchants

नाविin a ship

भिन्नायाम्broken, shattered

यथाas, just as

अगाधेin the unfathomable (deep)

उदप्लवेin the flood/overwhelming waters

अर्णवेin the ocean

अपारेin the boundless (sea)

पतिम्lord, master, protector

अच्छन्तःseeking, resorting to, going to

हतेwhen slain, upon being killed

शूरेin/when the hero

महात्मनाby the great-souled one

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

merchants (vaṇijaḥ)

ship (nauḥ)

ocean (arṇava)

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 uses a vivid simile to show how an army’s morale and coherence depend on a capable protector-leader: when the heroic support is removed, people feel like shipwrecked merchants in a shoreless sea—exposed, fearful, and urgently seeking guidance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the battlefield reaction after a great hero has been slain: the fighters, suddenly deprived of their main support, become disoriented and look for someone to lead and protect them, like shipwrecked traders searching for rescue in the open ocean.