Shloka 8

उद्योगपर्व — अध्याय १२५: दुर्योधनस्य प्रत्युत्तरम्

Duryodhana’s Reply in the Kuru Assembly

Devanagari script

विराटश्न शिखण्डी च शैशुपालिश्न दंशिता: । यावन्न प्रविशन्त्येते नक्रा इव महार्णवम्‌

Transliteration

virāṭaś ca śikhaṇḍī ca śaiśupāliś ca daṃśitāḥ | yāvan na praviśanty ete nakrā iva mahārṇavam ||

Translation

वैशम्पायन उवाच— विराटश्च शिखण्डी च शैशुपालिसुतोऽपि च दंशिताः सन्नद्धाः । यावन्न प्रविशन्त्येते नक्रा इव महार्णवम् ॥

Word by Word

विराटःVirāṭa

चand

शिखण्डीŚikhaṇḍin (Śikhaṇḍī)

चand

शैशुपालिःŚaiśupāli (a warrior/one of Śiśupāla’s side)

दंशिताःarmed, equipped (lit. furnished with weapons/armor)

यावत्until, as long as

नnot

प्रविशन्तिenter

एतेthese (men)

नक्राःcrocodiles

इवlike, as

महार्णवम्the great ocean

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Virāṭa

Śikhaṇḍī

Śaiśupāli

mahārṇava (great ocean)

nakra (crocodile)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Power and readiness should be governed by restraint and right timing; even in war, disciplined waiting and strategic entry are portrayed as virtues rather than impulsive aggression.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśaṃpāyana describes certain warriors—Virāṭa, Śikhaṇḍī, and Śaiśupāli—as fully armed yet holding back, compared to crocodiles that enter the vast ocean only when appropriate, suggesting poised readiness before engagement.