Shloka 18

Arjuna–Bhīṣma Strategic Engagement and Mutual Arrow-Interdiction (भीष्मार्जुनसमागमः)

Devanagari script

अथ ते द्रौपदीपुत्रा: सौभद्रश्न महारथ: । नकुल: सहदेवश्व धृष्टद्युम्नश्व॒ पार्षत:

Transliteration

atha te draupadīputrāḥ saubhadraś ca mahārathaḥ | nakulaḥ sahadevaś ca dhṛṣṭadyumnaś ca pārṣataḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya nói: Rồi các con trai của Draupadī, cùng Saubhadra (Abhimanyu) — vị đại xa chiến — với Nakula, Sahadeva và Dhṛṣṭadyumna, con của Pārṣata (Drupada), tất cả đều ào lên. Mạnh như lôi đình, họ ép sát các con của Dhṛtarāṣṭra, hành hạ họ bằng những mũi tên sắc và nhanh, tiến tới như những đỉnh núi sừng sững dồn xuống, cuốn theo thế áp đảo của chiến trận.

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• ते: those (they)
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: masculine, nominative, plural

• द्रौपदी-पुत्राः: sons of Draupadī
• द्रौपदी-पुत्राः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रौपदीपुत्र
• Form: masculine, nominative, plural

• सौभद्रः: Saubhadra (Abhimanyu)
• सौभद्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सौभद्र
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• महारथः: great chariot-warrior
• महारथः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महारथ
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• नकुलः: Nakula
• नकुलः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नकुल
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• सहदेवः: Sahadeva
• सहदेवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहदेव
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• धृष्टद्युम्नः: Dhṛṣṭadyumna
• धृष्टद्युम्नः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धृष्टद्युम्न
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• पार्षतः: son of Pṛṣata (i.e., Drupada’s line; epithet of Dhṛṣṭadyumna)
• पार्षतः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्षत
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Draupadī
• Draupadī’s sons (Draupadeyas)
• Saubhadra (Abhimanyu)
• Nakula
• Sahadeva
• Dhṛṣṭadyumna
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons (Kauravas)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s battlefield ethic: warriors act with disciplined force in accordance with kṣatriya-duty, yet the imagery of crushing advance also hints at the heavy moral weight and suffering inherent in war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that the Pāṇḍava-aligned heroes—Draupadī’s sons, Abhimanyu, Nakula, Sahadeva, and Dhṛṣṭadyumna—charge the Kaurava forces, striking them with sharp arrows and pressing forward with overwhelming momentum.