Shloka 39

शल्यस्य पाण्डवसेनापीडनम् — Śalya’s Assault on the Pāṇḍava Host

with Omens and Bhīma’s Counter

Devanagari script

स्वर्णदण्डामकुण्ठाग्रां तैलधौतां सुनिर्मलाम्‌ । लेलिहानामिव विभो नागकन्यां महाविषाम्‌

Transliteration

svarṇadaṇḍām akuṇṭhāgrāṃ tailadhautāṃ sunirmalām | lelihānām iva vibho nāgakanyāṃ mahāviṣām

Translation

สัญชัยกล่าวว่า “ข้าแต่องค์ผู้ทรงเดช (เขาได้เห็น) อาวุธที่มีด้ามทอง ปลายไม่ทื่อ ชำระด้วยน้ำมันจนผุดผ่อง—ประหนึ่งนาคกัญญาผู้มีพิษร้ายแรง แลบลิ้นเลียอยู่ฉะนั้น”

Word by Word

स्वर्णदण्डाम्having a golden staff/handle

अकुण्ठाग्राम्with an unblunted/sharp point

तैलधौताम्oil-polished/cleansed with oil

सुनिर्मलाम्very clean/spotless

लेलिहानाम्licking (its lips/tongue), darting the tongue

इवas if/like

विभोO mighty one

नागकन्याम्a serpent-maiden (female serpent)

महाविषाम्highly venomous

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by the vocative vibho)

weapon (unspecified; described by features)

nāgakanyā (serpent-maiden, metaphor)

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 uses a striking simile to show that in warfare, splendor and craftsmanship can mask mortal danger: what appears beautiful and pure can still be an instrument of destruction, urging ethical reflection on the seductive nature of power and violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating events to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describes a gleaming, oil-polished, sharp-pointed weapon with a golden shaft, comparing its deadly readiness to a highly venomous serpent-maiden flicking her tongue.