Shloka 17

Devanagari script

'सूत! तुम धीरे-धीरे रथ आगे बढ़ाओ। मैं सम्पूर्ण सेनाओंके पीछे जब हाथमें धनुष लेकर खड़ा होऊँगा, उस समय अर्जुन मुझे लाँधकर आगे नहीं बढ़ सकते ।। युध्यमानं हि कौन्तेयं हनिष्यामि न संशय: । नोत्सहेन्मामतिक्रान्तुं वेलामिव महोदधि:,“यदि वे मुझसे युद्ध करेंगे तो मैं उन्हें निःसंदेह मार गिराऊँगा। जैसे महासागर अपनी तटभूमिको लाँधघकर आगे नहीं बढ़ता, उसी प्रकार वे भी मुझे लाँध नहीं सकते

Transliteration

yudhyamānaṃ hi kaunteyaṃ haniṣyāmi na saṃśayaḥ | notsaheṇ mām atikrāntuṃ velām iva mahodadhiḥ ||

Translation

सूत! शनैः शनैर् रथं पुरतः प्रचोदय। अहं सर्वासां सेनानां पृष्ठतः धनुर्हस्तः स्थितो यदा, तदा अर्जुनो मां लङ्घयित्वा नातिवर्तितुं शक्नोति। युध्यमानं हि कौन्तेयं हनिष्यामि न संशयः। नोत्सहेन्मामतिक्रान्तुं वेलामिव महोदधिः—यदि स मया सह युध्येत, तं निःसन्देहं निहन्याम्; यथा महोदधिर्वेलां नातिक्रामति, तथैव स मां नातिवर्तेत्।

Word by Word

युध्यमानम्fighting (engaged in battle)

हिindeed/for

कौन्तेयम्the son of Kuntī (Arjuna)

हनिष्यामिI will kill

नnot

संशयःdoubt

नnot

उत्सहेI am able / I dare

एनम्him/this one

अतिक्रान्तुम्to overstep / to cross

वेलाम्shore/limit (coastline)

इवlike/as

महोदधिःthe great ocean

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Arjuna (Kaunteya)

bow (dhanuḥ, implied in the prose context)

chariot (ratha, implied in the prose context)

ocean (mahodadhi)

shoreline/boundary (velā)

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 unwavering resolve in battle and the idea of a ‘limit’ or boundary that cannot be crossed—expressed through the ocean-and-shore simile. Ethically, it reflects the Kṣatriya world-view of decisive confrontation, where confidence and steadfastness are presented as virtues, even as the narrative invites reflection on pride, fate, and the costs of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Sañjaya’s report from the battlefield, a warrior (in the surrounding context, addressing the charioteer) declares that when he stands with bow in hand behind the armies, Arjuna will not be able to push past him. He asserts that if Arjuna fights him directly, he will surely kill him, comparing Arjuna’s inability to pass him to the ocean’s inability to overstep its shore.