Shloka 16

भीमसेन-धृष्टद्युम्नयोर्वाक्यं

Bhīmasena and Dhṛṣṭadyumna’s Speeches on Kṣātra-Dharma

Devanagari script

तिष्ठ तिष्ठ न मे जीवन द्रोणपुत्र गमिष्यसि । एष त्वां निहनिष्यामि महिषं षण्मुखो यथा,'द्रोणपुत्र! खड़ा रह, खड़ा रह, मेरे हाथसे जीवित छूटकर नहीं जा सकेगा। जैसे कार्तिकेयने महिषासुरका वध किया था, उसी प्रकार मैं भी तुझे मार डालूँगा

Transliteration

tiṣṭha tiṣṭha na me jīvan droṇaputra gamiṣyasi | eṣa tvāṁ nihaniṣyāmi mahiṣaṁ ṣaṇmukho yathā ||

Translation

तिष्ठ तिष्ठ न मे जीवन द्रोणपुत्र गमिष्यसि । एष त्वां निहनिष्यामि महिषं षण्मुखो यथा ॥

Word by Word

तिष्ठstand (still)! / stop!

तिष्ठstand (still)! (repetition for emphasis)

नnot

मेof me / my

जीवनlife; alive (state of living)

द्रोणपुत्रO son of Droṇa (Aśvatthāman)

गमिष्यसिyou will go / you will escape

एषthis (one) / I (here)

त्वाम्you

निहनिष्यामिI will slay / kill

महिषम्the buffalo (demon Mahīṣa)

षण्मुखःṢaṇmukha (six-faced; Kārttikeya)

यथाas / just as

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Droṇaputra (Aśvatthāman)

Ṣ

Ṣaṇmukha (Skanda/Kārttikeya)

Mahīṣa (buffalo-demon; Mahīṣāsura by implication)

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 highlights the warrior ethic of facing one’s opponent directly and the use of divine precedent (Skanda’s victory) to justify and strengthen resolve. Ethically, it shows how combatants invoke dharmic or mythic models to frame lethal action as necessary retribution within the rules and psychology of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the midst of battle, a fighter challenges Droṇa’s son (Aśvatthāman), ordering him to stop and declaring that he will not be allowed to escape alive. The speaker intensifies the threat by comparing the intended killing to Skanda’s slaying of the buffalo-demon.