Shloka 19

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

Devanagari script

तेन ते विशिखा मुक्ता यमदण्डोपमा: शिता:

Transliteration

tena te viśikhā muktā yamadaṇḍopamāḥ śitāḥ

Translation

三阇耶说：随后他放出那些锐箭——宛如阎摩的刑杖——预示死亡，并昭示战场暴行所带来的不可逃避的报应。

Word by Word

• तेन: by him/thereby
• तेन: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• ते: to you
• ते: Sampradana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Dative, Singular

• विशिखाः: arrows
• विशिखाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: विशिखा
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• मुक्ताः: released/shot
• मुक्ताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुक्त
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• यमदण्डोपमाः: like Yama's staff (death-dealing)
• यमदण्डोपमाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यमदण्डोपम
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

• शिताः: sharp
• शिताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शित
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• viśikhāḥ (arrows)
• Yama
• Yamadaṇḍa (rod/staff of Yama)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The simile ‘like Yama’s rod’ frames warfare as an arena where actions swiftly yield grave consequences: violence carries the shadow of death and moral retribution, reminding the listener that deeds on the battlefield are not ethically neutral.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes a combat moment in which a warrior releases sharp arrows; their deadliness is emphasized by comparing them to Yama’s punitive staff, signaling that the volley is intended to strike decisively and lethally.