Shloka 22

Devanagari script

शिखण्डी तु रणे राजन्‌ विव्याधैव पितामहम्‌ । शरैरशनिसंस्पर्शैस्तथा सर्पविषोपमै:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | śikhaṇḍī tu raṇe rājan vivyādhaiva pitāmaham | śarair aśani-saṃsparśais tathā sarpa-viṣopamaiḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya thưa: Tâu Đại vương, giữa cơn giao tranh, Śikhaṇḍī bắt đầu bắn xuyên Đại phụ Bhīṣma bằng những mũi tên—chạm vào như sấm sét, ghê rợn như nọc độc rắn—cho thấy rằng trong chiến trận, ngay cả bậc trưởng thượng được tôn kính nhất cũng có thể bị công kích khi mưu lược và mối thù xưa xoay chiều chống lại người ấy.

Word by Word

• शिखण्डी: Shikhandi
• शिखण्डी: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिखण्डिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• रणे: in battle
• रणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रण
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

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

• विव्याध: pierced/wounded
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्यध्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• पितामहम्: the grandsire (Bhishma)
• पितामहम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पितामह
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• अशनिसंस्पर्शैः: having the touch of a thunderbolt
• अशनिसंस्पर्शैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अशनिसंस्पर्श
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• तथा: and/also; thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• सर्पविषोपमैः: like snake-poison
• सर्पविषोपमैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्पविषोपम
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Dhritarashtra
• Shikhandi
• Bhishma
• battlefield (Kurukshetra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the harsh moral complexity of war: reverence for elders and ideals of honor can be overridden by battlefield strategy and the momentum of destiny, revealing how dharma in conflict often becomes entangled with necessity and prior causes.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that Shikhandi is actively striking Bhishma with fierce arrows in battle, initiating the decisive pressure that will lead to Bhishma’s downfall.