Shloka 16

Chapter 51: Saṃdhyākāla-saṃhāra

Evening Withdrawal after Arjuna’s Counter-Advance

Devanagari script

तस्य लाघवमार्गस्थमलातसदृश प्र भम्‌ । दिश: पर्यपतच्चापं गाण्डीवमिव घोषवत्‌

Transliteration

tasya lāghavamārgastham alātacakrasadṛśaprabham | diśaḥ paryapatac cāpaṃ gāṇḍīvam iva ghoṣavat ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：他的弓沿着双手迅疾的轨迹挥动，光耀如旋转的火把，划出一圈明轮；其声轰然，宛如甘狄婆（Gāṇḍīva）之鸣，回旋扫荡，仿佛遍及四方——这是受戒律锤炼的武艺，在战场正义之怒中尽情迸发的形象。

Word by Word

• तस्य: of him/its
• तस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• लाघवमार्गस्थम्: situated in the path/field of agility (i.e., suited to display quickness)
• लाघवमार्गस्थम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लाघव-मार्ग-स्थ
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अलातसदृशप्रभम्: having a glow like a firebrand
• अलातसदृशप्रभम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अलात-सदृश-प्रभ
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• दिशः: the directions
• दिशः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दिश्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Plural

• पर्यपतत्: went around, circled
• पर्यपतत्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: पत्
• Form: Imperfect, 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• चापम्: the bow
• चापम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: चाप
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• गाण्डीवम्: Gāṇḍīva (the bow)
• गाण्डीवम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गाण्डीव
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• इव: like, as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• घोषवत्: resounding, noisy
• घोषवत्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोषवत्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• bow (cāpa)
• Gāṇḍīva
• directions (diśaḥ)
• firebrand-whirl (alātacakra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights disciplined skill and focused energy in battle: agility guided by training turns a weapon into an all-encompassing force, suggesting that power in war is ethically weighty and must be governed by kṣatriya-dharma rather than mere rage.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a warrior’s bow being whirled and drawn so swiftly that it appears as a circular blaze like a spinning firebrand, and it roars like Gāṇḍīva, seeming to sweep across all directions as the fighting intensifies.