Shloka 7

कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke

Devanagari script

सायुधान्‌ सतत्॒त्रांश्व॒ पञ्चास्योरगसंनिभान्‌ । बाहुन्‌ क्षुरैरमित्राणां चिच्छेद समरे<र्जुन:

Transliteration

sāyudhān satattrāṁś ca pañcāsyoragasaṁnibhān | bāhūn kṣuraiḥ amitrāṇāṁ ciccheda samare 'rjunaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya nói: Giữa chiến địa, Arjuna dùng vũ khí sắc như dao cạo chém đứt tay quân địch—những cánh tay cầm binh khí, luôn sẵn sàng, trông như rắn năm đầu.

Word by Word

• {'sāyudhān': 'bearing weapons

• armed', 'satattrān (satata-trān)': 'ever-ready

• constantly prepared (for action)', 'pañcāsya': 'five-mouthed/five-faced

• (used of a serpent with five hoods)', 'uraga': 'serpent', 'saṁnibha': 'resembling

• like', 'bāhūn': 'arms', 'kṣuraiḥ': 'with razors/razor-edged blades

• with sharp cutting weapons', 'amitrāṇām': 'of enemies', 'ciccheda': 'cut off

• severed', 'samare': 'in battle', 'arjunaḥ': 'Arjuna'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Arjuna
• enemy warriors (amitrāḥ)
• arms (bāhūḥ)
• razor-edged blades/weapons (kṣura)
• battlefield (samara)
• five-hooded serpent (pañcāsyoraga) (simile)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a battlefield ethic of neutralizing harm by disabling the enemy’s capacity for violence (their weapon-bearing arms). It also reflects the grim duty of a kṣatriya in war: decisive action taken to protect one’s side, even when the means are severe.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes Arjuna’s prowess in combat: using sharp blades, he cuts off the enemies’ armed arms, likening those arms to five-hooded serpents—an image that conveys both their menace and Arjuna’s ability to overcome it.