Shloka 76

Devanagari script

अथ संधाय वायव्यमस्त्रमस्त्रविदां वर:

Transliteration

atha sandhāya vāyavyam astram astravidāṁ varaḥ

Translation

अथ संधाय वायव्यमस्त्रमस्त्रविदां वरः ॥

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• संधाय: having fixed/aimed; having joined/applied
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-धा
• Form: Absolutive (क्त्वा/ल्यप्), indeclinable; from धा with उपसर्ग सम्

• वायव्यम्: the Vāyu-related (wind) (weapon)
• वायव्यम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वायव्य
• Form: Neuter, accusative, singular

• अस्त्रम्: weapon; missile
• अस्त्रम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्त्र
• Form: Neuter, accusative, singular

• अस्त्रविदाम्: of the knowers of weapons
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्त्रविद्
• Form: Masculine, genitive, plural

• वरः: the best; the foremost
• वरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वर
• Form: Masculine, nominative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Vāyavya-astra (Wind weapon)
• Vāyu (Wind-god)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how expertise and power in war can shift conflict from ordinary combat to mantra-invoked astras, raising implicit ethical stakes: mastery must be governed by restraint and dharma, because specialized weapons intensify harm beyond conventional limits.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a supreme weapon-master takes aim and deploys the Vāyavya-astra, a wind-based supernatural weapon, indicating a tactical move to counter an opponent’s force or to break a difficult battlefield situation.