Shloka 10

Adhyāya 104 — Śikhaṇḍin-puraskāraḥ (Śikhaṇḍin as Vanguard) and Bhīṣma’s Counter-Advance

Devanagari script

ततः समीयतु: संख्ये त्वरितौ नरराक्षसौ

Transliteration

tataḥ samīyatuḥ saṅkhye tvaritau nara-rākṣasau

Translation

三阇耶说道：于是，在鏖战之中，那人族勇士与罗刹迅疾逼近，彼此相向而来——此乃战争无情推进之象：相反的本性在正面冲突中相遇，连战场本身也迫使人作出果决之举。

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततस्
• Form: Avyaya (ablatival adverb: 'from that/thereupon')

• समीयतुः: the two approached/came together
• समीयतुः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-इ (धातु: इङ्/इ)
• Form: लिट् (परस्मैपदम्), प्रथमपुरुषः, द्विवचनम्

• संख्ये: in battle, in combat
• संख्ये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संख्या
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्गम्, सप्तमी, एकवचनम्

• त्वरितौ: swift, hastened
• त्वरितौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्वरित
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा, द्विवचनम्

• नरराक्षसौ: the two man-demons (rakshasas in human form)
• नरराक्षसौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरराक्षस
• Form: पुंलिङ्गम्, प्रथमा, द्विवचनम्

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• a human warrior (nara)
• a rākṣasa warrior (rākṣasa)
• battlefield (saṅkhya)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the inexorable drive of battle: once hostility is joined, opponents are drawn into direct encounter. Ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension—human agency operating within the force of circumstance—where courage and restraint must still be consciously chosen even amid war’s momentum.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that two combatants—one described as a man and the other as a rākṣasa—rapidly advance toward each other on the battlefield, signaling an imminent clash.