Shloka 29

Adhyāya 141 — Night duels: Śaineya and Bhūriśravas; Droṇi and Ghaṭotkaca; Bhīma and Duryodhana

Devanagari script

अग्निचक्रोपमं घोरं मण्डलीकृतमायुधम्‌

Transliteration

agnicakropamaṃ ghoraṃ maṇḍalīkṛtam āyudham

Translation

अग्निचक्रोपमं घोरं मण्डलीकृतमायुधम्।

Word by Word

• अग्निचक्रोपमम्: like a wheel of fire
• अग्निचक्रोपमम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अग्निचक्रोपम
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• घोरम्: terrible, dreadful
• घोरम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• मण्डलीकृतम्: made circular, formed into a ring
• मण्डलीकृतम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मण्डलीकृत
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• आयुधम्: weapon
• आयुधम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आयुध
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• weapon (āyudha)
• wheel of fire (agnicakra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse emphasizes the terrifying, almost elemental power of weapons in war, reminding the listener that martial prowess can manifest as overwhelming destructive force—an implicit ethical backdrop to the epic’s recurring concern with the costs of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a weapon being deployed or displayed in battle: it is made to spin in a circular motion and appears like a blazing wheel, conveying speed, danger, and the lethal intensity of the ongoing combat.