Shloka 8

Devanagari script

ततः शतसहस्राणां हयानां सुबलात्मज: | विमलप्रासहस्तानामृष्टितोमरधारिणाम्‌,तदनन्तर सुबलपुत्र शकुनि एक लाख घुड़सवारोंकी सेनाके साथ युद्धके लिये आ पहुँचा। वे सभी सैनिक अपने हाथोंमें चमकते हुए प्रास, ऋष्टि और तोमर लिये हुए थे। सबको अपने शौर्यका अभिमान था। सभी बलवान, सुन्दर वेशभूषासे सुसज्जित और ध्वजा-पताकासे सुशोभित थे। अस्त्र-विद्याकी शिक्षा पाये हुए युद्धकुशल श्रेष्ठ पैदल सिपाहियोंकी भी बहुत बड़ी संख्या उन घुड़सवारोंके साथ थी

Transliteration

tataḥ śatasahasrāṇāṃ hayānāṃ subalātmajaḥ | vimalaprāsahastānām ṛṣṭitomaradhāriṇām ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：随后，苏婆罗之子率十万骑兵前来应战。诸骑士手执光耀无瑕的长矛、枪槊与投枪——军势森严，恃其武勇，自信满怀，准备将战火更向前推进。

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

शतसहस्राणाम्of a hundred-thousand (one lakh)

हयानाम्of horses

सुबलात्मजःthe son of Subala (Shakuni)

विमलप्रासहस्तानाम्of those having spotless/shining spears in hand

ऋष्टितोमरधारिणाम्of those bearing lances and javelins

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Subala

Śakuni

horsemen (cavalry)

prāsa (spear)

Ṛ

ṛṣṭi (lance)

tomara (javelin)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse primarily functions as battlefield reportage rather than direct moral instruction; ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension between martial excellence (kṣatriya-dharma) and the destructive scale of war—where pride in arms and numbers becomes a force that accelerates collective suffering.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Śakuni’s arrival on the battlefield with an enormous cavalry contingent—one hundred thousand horsemen—armed with gleaming spears, lances, and javelins, signaling the Kaurava side’s mobilization and readiness to intensify the fighting.