Shloka 213

अश्वमेधीयस्य हयस्य दक्षिणापश्चिमगमनम् — The Sacrificial Horse’s Southern and Western Circuit

Devanagari script

अभ्ययु: सहिता: पार्थ प्रगृहीतशरासना: । उसकी सेनामें हाथी

Transliteration

abhyayuḥ sahitāḥ pārtha pragṛhītaśarāsanāḥ |

Translation

Vaiśampāyana nói: Hợp lực thành một khối, tay giương cung nạp tên, các chiến binh ập đến đánh Arjuna. Đạo quân ấy—đầy voi, ngựa và chiến xa—được trang hoàng bằng những chuỗi cờ phướn và kỳ hiệu. Nghe tin vua Śakuni đã chết, các dũng sĩ xứ Gandhāra bừng bừng phẫn nộ; vì thế họ cầm vũ khí, đồng loạt xông lên như một làn sóng để công kích Arjuna.

Word by Word

• अभ्ययुः: they rushed/charged
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-या (धातु: या)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• सहिता: together, united
• सहिता: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सहित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पार्थ: O Partha (Arjuna)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• प्रगृहीत-शर-आसना: having taken up bows and arrows
• प्रगृहीत-शर-आसना: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रगृहीतशरासन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśaṃpāyana
• Arjuna (Pārtha)
• Gandhāra
• Śakuni
• army (senā)
• elephants
• horses
• chariots
• bows
• arrows
• banners and flags (dhvaja-patākā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage highlights how news of a leader’s death can inflame collective anger and drive retaliatory violence. Ethically, it illustrates the peril of acting from amarsa (indignant wrath): it unites people quickly, but often toward destructive ends, showing the tension between kṣatriya duty in battle and the moral cost of vengeance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Gandhāra warriors, enraged after hearing that King Śakuni has been slain, assemble and launch a coordinated attack on Arjuna. Their army is described as a full combined force with elephants, horses, and chariots, decorated with banners and flags, advancing with weapons ready.