Shloka 9

Devanagari script

कस्येमे पृथवो दीर्घाश्वन्द्रबिम्बार्धदर्शना: । शतानि सप्त तिष्ठन्ति नाराचा रुधिराशना:,ये जो शत्रुओंका रक्त पीनेवाले मोटे, विशाल तथा अर्धचन्द्राकार दिखायी देनेवाले सात सौ नाराच रखे हुए हैं, किसके हैं?

Transliteration

uttara uvāca |

kasyeme pṛthavo dīrghāś candrabimbārdhadarśanāḥ |

śatāni sapta tiṣṭhanti nārācā rudhirāśanāḥ ||

Translation

Sinabi ni Uttara: “Kanino ang mga palasong nārāca na ito—makakapal at mahahaba, hugis kalahating bilog ng buwan—na naririto nang pitong daan, na wari’y umiinom ng dugo ng mga kaaway?”

Word by Word

कस्यof whom/whose

इमेthese

पृथवःbroad, thick

दीर्घाःlong

अश्वन्द्रबिम्बार्धदर्शनाःhaving the appearance of a half-moon disk

शतानिhundreds

सप्तseven

तिष्ठन्तिstand/are placed

नाराचाःiron arrows (nārācas)

रुधिराशनाःblood-eating (i.e., drinking enemies' blood)

Speaker

उत्तर उवाच

Characters & Entities

Uttara

nārāca arrows

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 discernment and preparedness in a kṣatriya context: weapons are not mere objects but carry responsibility and consequence. Uttara’s questioning signals the ethical awareness that power (arms) must be understood—whose it is, and for what purpose it is to be used.

What is happening in the narrative?

Uttara notices a large stock of formidable nārāca arrows—seven hundred, thick and long, half-moon in appearance—and asks whose weapons they are. The question sets up identification of the owner and the martial resources available for the impending conflict.