Shloka 62

Devanagari script

मुसला इव मे घ्नन्ति नेमे बाणा: शिखण्डिन: । वज्रदण्डसमस्पर्शा वज्वेगदुरासदा:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

muṣalā iva me ghnanti neme bāṇāḥ śikhaṇḍinaḥ |

vajradaṇḍasamasparśā vajravegadurāsadāḥ ||

Translation

Wika ni Sañjaya: «Ang mga palaso ni Śikhaṇḍin na ito’y humahampas sa akin na parang mabibigat na pamalo. Ang haplos nila’y gaya ng kulog at pamalo ng kamatayan—di-matiis—at ang bilis ay parang kidlat, kaya’t napakahirap salagin.»

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'sañjaya uvāca', 'definition': 'Sañjaya said'}, {'term': 'muṣalāḥ', 'definition': 'clubs, pestles

• heavy bludgeons'}, {'term': 'iva', 'definition': 'like, as'}, {'term': 'me', 'definition': 'to/for me

• my'}, {'term': 'ghnanti', 'definition': 'they strike, smite, kill (here: strike hard)'}, {'term': 'ime', 'definition': 'these'}, {'term': 'bāṇāḥ', 'definition': 'arrows'}, {'term': 'śikhaṇḍinaḥ', 'definition': 'of Śikhaṇḍin (genitive: belonging to Śikhaṇḍin)'}, {'term': 'vajra', 'definition': 'thunderbolt

• also: diamond-like hardness'}, {'term': 'daṇḍa', 'definition': 'rod, staff

• punitive rod (also associated with Yama as chastiser)'}, {'term': 'sama-sparśāḥ', 'definition': 'having a touch comparable to

• equal in contact/impact'}, {'term': 'vajra-vega', 'definition': 'thunderbolt-like speed/impetus'}, {'term': 'durāsadāḥ', 'definition': 'hard to approach/assail

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Śikhaṇḍin
• bāṇa (arrows)
• muṣala (club/pestle)
• vajra (thunderbolt)
• daṇḍa (rod; implicitly Yama-daṇḍa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the brutal immediacy of war: even the greatest warriors face overwhelming force and the nearness of death. The ethical undertone is a sober recognition of mortality and the consequences unleashed when conflict escalates beyond restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

In the Bhīṣma Parva battle account, Śikhaṇḍin’s arrows are described as striking with crushing force and unstoppable speed. Sañjaya reports the intensity of the assault using images of clubs, thunderbolts, and the death-rod, conveying how difficult these missiles are to counter.