Shloka 18

Devanagari script

तस्याज्ञां शिरसा योधा: परिगृहा[ विशाम्पते | विवर्णवदना राजन्‌ न्‍्यविशन्त महारथा:

Transliteration

tasyājñāṃ śirasā yodhāḥ parigṛhya viśāṃpate | vivarṇavadanā rājan nyaviśanta mahārathāḥ ||

Translation

سنجے نے کہا—اے رعایا کے پالنے والے! اُنہوں نے اُس کے حکم کو سر آنکھوں پر لیا۔ اے راجن، وہ مہارتھی پھیکے پڑے چہروں کے ساتھ لشکرگاہ میں داخل ہوئے۔

Word by Word

• तस्य: of him (Duryodhana)
• तस्य: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• आज्ञाम्: command, order
• आज्ञाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आज्ञा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• शिरसा: with (their) head; on the head (as a mark of acceptance)
• शिरसा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• योधाः: warriors
• योधाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: योध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• परिगृह्य: having accepted / having taken up (i.e., having complied with)
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि-ग्रह्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage), Non-finite

• विशाम्पते: O lord of the people
• Type: Noun
• Root: विशाम्पति
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• विवर्ण-वदनाः: having pale faces
• विवर्ण-वदनाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विवर्णवदन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• न्यविशन्त: entered
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-विश्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• महारथाः: great chariot-warriors
• महारथाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महारथ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Duryodhana
• the mahārathas (great chariot-warriors)
• the camp (śibira, implied by narrative context)
• the King addressed (Dhṛtarāṣṭra, implied by Sañjaya’s address)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights disciplined obedience to a leader’s command (“taking it upon the head”) while also revealing the moral and emotional cost of war: even mighty heroes show pallor and apprehension, suggesting that power and rank do not erase inner conscience, fear, or the weight of impending outcomes.

What is happening in the narrative?

After receiving Duryodhana’s order, the assembled great warriors accept it respectfully and proceed into the camp. Their faces have lost their color, indicating distress, shock, or ominous anticipation as the war situation intensifies.