Shloka 18

Devanagari script

अभिद्रवध्वं युध्यध्वं भीष्मं जयत संयुगे | रक्षिता: सत्यसंधेन जिष्णुना रिपुजिष्णुना

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | abhidravadhvaṁ yudhyadhvaṁ bhīṣmaṁ jayata saṁyuge | rakṣitāḥ satyasaṁdhena jiṣṇunā ripujiṣṇunā, rājan |

Translation

Sañjaya nói: “Hãy xông lên và giao chiến; hãy khuất phục Bhīṣma giữa chiến trường. Tâu Đại vương, các ngài đều được Arjuna—người giữ trọn lời thệ, kẻ chiến thắng và kẻ khuất phục quân thù—che chở.”

Word by Word

• [{'term': 'abhidravadhvam', 'gloss': 'rush forward, charge (imperative plural)'}, {'term': 'yudhyadhvam', 'gloss': 'fight (imperative plural, middle voice)'}, {'term': 'bhīṣmam', 'gloss': 'Bhishma (accusative singular)'}, {'term': 'jayata', 'gloss': 'conquer, win over (imperative plural)'}, {'term': 'saṁyuge', 'gloss': 'in battle, in combat (locative singular)'}, {'term': 'rakṣitāḥ', 'gloss': 'protected, guarded (past passive participle, nominative plural)'}, {'term': 'satyasaṁdhena', 'gloss': 'by one firm in truth/pledge

• true to his vow (instrumental singular)'}, {'term': 'jiṣṇunā', 'gloss': 'by the victorious one

• an epithet of Arjuna (instrumental singular)'}, {'term': 'ripujiṣṇunā', 'gloss': 'by the conqueror of enemies (instrumental singular)'}, {'term': 'rājan', 'gloss': 'O King (vocative singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhīṣma
• Arjuna (Jiṣṇu)
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (Rājan)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights martial duty carried out under disciplined leadership: warriors are urged to advance and fight, while ethical strength is grounded in satya-saṁdhi—steadfastness to truth and vows—embodied by Arjuna as a protector whose reliability inspires collective courage.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports battlefield exhortation: the troops are commanded to charge, engage in combat, and seek victory over Bhishma, with confidence that Arjuna—renowned as Jiṣṇu, the enemy-conqueror—stands as their safeguard.