Shloka 16

Gaṅgā-tīra Udaka-kriyā and Kuntī’s Disclosure of Karṇa’s Maternity

Strī-parva, Adhyāya 27

Devanagari script

तलशब्दानुनदितो महारथमहाह्द: । यस्येषुपातमासाद्य नान्यस्तिष्ठेद्‌ धनंजयात्‌

Transliteration

talaśabdānunadito mahārathamahāhradaḥ | yasy eṣupātam āsādya nānyas tiṣṭhed dhanañjayāt ||

Translation

तलशब्दानुनदितो महारथमहाह्रदः । यस्येषुपातमासाद्य नान्यस्तिष्ठेद् धनंजयात् ॥

Word by Word

तलशब्दानुनदितःresounding with the sound of palms (clapping)

महारथमहाह्रदःhe whose great lake is (filled with) great chariot-warriors

यस्यof whom/whose

इषुपातम्the fall/flight of arrows; arrow-shot

आसाद्यhaving reached/encountered

नnot

अन्यःanother (person)

तिष्ठेत्could stand/remain

धनंजयात्from Dhanañjaya (Arjuna)

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Dhanañjaya (Arjuna)

arrows (iṣu)

tala (palm/clapper)

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 underscores the overwhelming force of a truly great warrior: when power is joined with mastery (here, Arjuna’s arrow-range), ordinary resistance collapses. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s sober recognition that in war, prowess can make outcomes feel inevitable—heightening the tragedy that follows in the Strī-parvan.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana describes a formidable battlefield presence using vivid similes and sound-imagery, emphasizing that once opponents entered the effective range of Arjuna’s arrows, they could not hold their ground against him.