Shloka 4

Devanagari script

तव नृप रथिवर्यास्तान्‌ दशैकं च वीरान्‌ नृवर शरवराग्रैस्ताडयन्तो5 भ्यरुन्धन्‌ । नवजलदसवर्णहस्तिभिस्तानुदीयु- गिरिशिखरनिकाशैर्भीमवेगै: कुलिन्दा:

Transliteration

tava nṛpa rathivaryās tān daśaikaṃ ca vīrān nṛvara śaravarāgrais tāḍayanto ’bhyarundhan | navajaladasavarṇahastibhis tānudīyur giriśikharanikāśair bhīmavegaiḥ kulindāḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya nói: “Tâu Đại vương, mười một chiến xa dũng tướng hàng đầu của bệ hạ đã bị chặn lại và vây hãm khi trúng những loạt tên sắc nhọn. Rồi quân Kulinda ồ ạt xông lên với tượng binh đen như mây mưa mới, tốc độ xung kích đáng sợ, khối thế như đỉnh núi—ép thẳng vào trận địa bằng sức mạnh áp đảo.”

Word by Word

• तव: of you/your
• तव: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: त्वद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Singular

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

• रथिवर्याः: excellent chariot-warriors
• रथिवर्याः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथिवर्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तान्: those
• तान्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• दश: ten
• दश: Visheshana
• Type: Numeral
• Root: दश
• Form: —, Accusative, Plural

• एकम्: one
• एकम्: Visheshana
• Type: Numeral
• Root: एक
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

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

• वीरान्: heroes
• वीरान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• नृवर: O best of men
• नृवर: Sambodhana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृवर
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• शरवराग्रैः: with arrow-tips (sharp arrow-points)
• शरवराग्रैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरवराग्र
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• ताडयन्तः: striking/smiting
• ताडयन्तः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: ताडयत् (ताडय्)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural, —, Present (participle)

• अभ्यरुन्धन्: they hemmed in / obstructed
• Type: Verb
• Root: रुध् (अभि-रुध्)
• Form: Imperfect, 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• नव: new/fresh
• नव: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• जलद: of a cloud
• जलद: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: जलद
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• सवर्ण: of the same color (dark as)
• सवर्ण: Visheshana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सवर्ण
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• हस्तिभिः: with elephants
• हस्तिभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: हस्तिन्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• तान्: them
• तान्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• उदीयुः: they rose up / surged forth
• Type: Verb
• Root: उद्-इ (उदी)
• Form: Perfect, 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• गिरिशिखरनिकाशैः: like mountain-peaks (peak-like)
• गिरिशिखरनिकाशैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गिरिशिखरनिकाश
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• भीमवेगैः: with terrible speed
• भीमवेगैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भीमवेग
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• कुलिन्दाः: the Kulindas (a people/tribe)
• कुलिन्दाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुलिन्द
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by address nṛpa)
• Kulindas
• rathivaryas (elite chariot-warriors of the Kaurava side)
• elephants
• arrows
• mountain peaks
• rain-clouds

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores a battlefield ethic of disciplined resistance and coordinated assault: elite warriors can be halted by concentrated missile-fire, while massed forces (elephants) can decisively shift momentum. Implicitly, it highlights how power in war depends not only on individual heroism but on collective strategy and timing.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the king that the Kaurava’s leading chariot-fighters—eleven in number—were struck by sharp arrow-showers and thereby checked. Immediately after, the Kulindas advanced in a powerful charge with elephant troops, dark as rain-clouds and massive like mountain peaks, intensifying the pressure in the fight.