Shloka 18

Arjuna–Bhīṣma Strategic Engagement and Mutual Arrow-Interdiction (भीष्मार्जुनसमागमः)

Devanagari script

अथ ते द्रौपदीपुत्रा: सौभद्रश्न महारथ: । नकुल: सहदेवश्व धृष्टद्युम्नश्व॒ पार्षत:

Transliteration

atha te draupadīputrāḥ saubhadraś ca mahārathaḥ | nakulaḥ sahadevaś ca dhṛṣṭadyumnaś ca pārṣataḥ ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：随后，德劳帕蒂之诸子，以及娑婆陀罗之子阿毗曼纽——大车战士——又有那俱罗、娑诃提婆与帕尔沙塔（德鲁帕达）之子提利施塔丢摩那，众将一齐奔涌向前。其势如霹雳，锐箭迅疾而锋利，逼压折磨持国之子；他们推进之时，仿佛群峰逼近，沉沉压下，战势汹涌不可当。

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• ते: those (they)
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: masculine, nominative, plural

• द्रौपदी-पुत्राः: sons of Draupadī
• द्रौपदी-पुत्राः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रौपदीपुत्र
• Form: masculine, nominative, plural

• सौभद्रः: Saubhadra (Abhimanyu)
• सौभद्रः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सौभद्र
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

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

• महारथः: great chariot-warrior
• महारथः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महारथ
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• नकुलः: Nakula
• नकुलः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नकुल
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• सहदेवः: Sahadeva
• सहदेवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहदेव
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

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

• धृष्टद्युम्नः: Dhṛṣṭadyumna
• धृष्टद्युम्नः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धृष्टद्युम्न
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

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

• पार्षतः: son of Pṛṣata (i.e., Drupada’s line; epithet of Dhṛṣṭadyumna)
• पार्षतः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्षत
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Draupadī
• Draupadī’s sons (Draupadeyas)
• Saubhadra (Abhimanyu)
• Nakula
• Sahadeva
• Dhṛṣṭadyumna
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s sons (Kauravas)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the Mahābhārata’s battlefield ethic: warriors act with disciplined force in accordance with kṣatriya-duty, yet the imagery of crushing advance also hints at the heavy moral weight and suffering inherent in war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that the Pāṇḍava-aligned heroes—Draupadī’s sons, Abhimanyu, Nakula, Sahadeva, and Dhṛṣṭadyumna—charge the Kaurava forces, striking them with sharp arrows and pressing forward with overwhelming momentum.