Shloka 163

नारायणास्त्र-शमनं द्रौणि-प्रहारश्च

Pacification of the Nārāyaṇāstra and Drauni’s Renewed Assault

Devanagari script

ध्वजयष्टिं परिक्लिश्य कामुक: कामिनीं यथा । महाराज! उस बाणसे अत्यन्त घायल हुआ शकुनि, जैसे कामी पुरुष कामिनीका आलिंगन करता है, उसी प्रकार ध्वज-यष्टि (ध्वजाके डंडे)-को दोनों भुजाओंसे पकड़कर रथके पिछले भागमें बैठ गया

Transliteration

dhvajayaṣṭiṃ parikliśya kāmukaḥ kāminīṃ yathā | mahārāja! us bāṇase atyanta ghāyala huā śakuni, jaise kāmī puruṣa kāminīkā āliṅgana kartā hai, usī prakāra dhvaja-yaṣṭi (dhvajāke daṇḍe)-ko donoṃ bhujāoṃse pakaṛakara rathake pichale bhāgameṃ baiṭh gayā |

Translation

సంజయుడు పలికెను—మహారాజా! ఆ బాణంతో తీవ్రంగా గాయపడిన శకుని, కాముకుడు కామినిని ఆలింగనం చేసుకున్నట్లే, ధ్వజయష్టిని రెండు భుజాలతో బిగిగా పట్టుకొని రథపు వెనుక భాగంలో కూర్చుండిపోయెను.

Word by Word

ध्वजbanner/flag

यष्टिम्staff/pole

परिक्लिश्यhaving grasped/held tightly (lit. having clung/strained around)

कामुकःa lustful man/lover

कामिनीम्a beloved woman

यथाas/just as

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Mahārāja (Dhṛtarāṣṭra)

Śakuni

dhvaja-yaṣṭi (flagstaff)

bāṇa (arrow)

ratha (chariot)

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 human vulnerability in war: when struck by violence, even a calculating warrior like Śakuni instinctively clings to support. The deliberately coarse simile suggests that war strips away dignity and reveals the compulsions of the body and mind, inviting ethical reflection on the degrading nature of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Śakuni has been badly wounded by an arrow. In pain, he grips the chariot’s flagstaff with both arms and sits/collapses into the rear of the chariot for support.