Shloka 60

Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)

Devanagari script

तदनन्तर युधिष्छिरने इन्द्रधनुषके समान कान्तिमान्‌ दूसरा धनुष लेकर सर्पोका संहार करनेवाले गरुड़की भाँति युद्धस्थलमें तीखे भल्लोंद्वारा शत्रुओंके शरीरोंका नाश करते हुए क्षणभरमें उन सबका विध्वंस कर दिया ।।

Transliteration

tad-anantaraṁ yudhiṣṭhireṇa indra-dhanuṣka-samāna-kāntimān dvitīyaṁ dhanuḥ gṛhītvā sarpa-saṁhāra-kṛd garuḍa iva raṇa-bhūmau tīkṣṇair bhallaiḥ śatrūṇāṁ śarīrāṇāṁ nāśaṁ kurvan kṣaṇa-mātreṇa tān sarvān vidhvaṁsayām āsa || tataḥ pārthasya bāṇaughair āvṛtāḥ sainikās tava | nimīlitākṣāḥ kṣiṇvantaḥ bhṛśam anyonyam arditāḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya nói: Sau đó Yudhiṣṭhira lại cầm một cây cung khác rực rỡ như cầu vồng, tiến trên chiến địa như Garuḍa diệt rắn. Với những mũi tên đầu rộng sắc bén, ngài đánh gục thân xác kẻ thù và chỉ trong khoảnh khắc đã khiến tất cả chúng tan tác. Rồi quân của ngài, bị những trận mưa tên của Pārtha (Arjuna) phủ kín, mắt khép hờ, đau đớn và suy kiệt, hoảng loạn chen lấn, giẫm đạp lên nhau.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• पार्थस्य: of Partha (Arjuna)
• पार्थस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• बाण-ओघैः: by torrents/streams of arrows
• बाण-ओघैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाण-ओघ
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• आवृताः: covered, enveloped
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-√वृ (वृणोति/वृणुते)
• Form: Past passive participle, Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• सैनिकाः: soldiers
• सैनिकाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सैनिक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तव: your
• तव: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: Genitive, Singular

• निमीलित-अक्षाः: having closed eyes
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निमीलित-अक्ष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• क्षिण्वन्तः: destroying, wasting away
• Type: Verb
• Root: √क्षि (क्षिणोति)
• Form: Present active participle, Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• भृशम्: greatly, exceedingly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भृशम्

• अन्योन्य-मर्दिताः: crushed/pressed by one another
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्योन्य-मर्दित
• Form: Past passive participle, Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Garuḍa
• serpents (sarpa)
• Pārtha (Arjuna)
• Kaurava soldiers (tava sainikāḥ)
• bow (dhanuḥ)
• arrows (bāṇa, bhalla)
• Indra’s bow / rainbow (indra-dhanuṣka)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the harsh dharma of kṣatriya warfare: when battle is joined, decisive action and steadfastness are demanded, while panic and disorder (soldiers crushing one another) become a moral and practical collapse. It also highlights how poetic imagery (Garuḍa vs. serpents) frames righteous force as swift and overwhelming.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Yudhiṣṭhira taking up a radiant bow and rapidly destroying enemies with sharp arrows. Immediately after, Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s troops are depicted as engulfed by Arjuna’s arrow-storm, weakened and disoriented, crowding and crushing each other amid the chaos.