Shloka 23

Adhyāya 41 — Kṛṣṇa’s Battlefield Briefing and the Renewal of the Great Engagement

Devanagari script

अद्याहवे यस्य न तुल्यमन्यं मन्ये मनुष्यं धनुराददानम्‌

Transliteration

adyāhave yasya na tulyam anyaṃ manye manuṣyaṃ dhanur ādadānam

Translation

桑阇耶说道：“今日在这战场上，我以为当他执起弓时，世间再无一人可与之比肩。”

Word by Word

• अद्य: today
• अद्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अद्य
• Form: Avyaya (time adverb)

• आहवे: in battle
• आहवे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: आहव
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• यस्य: whose
• यस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न
• Form: Avyaya (negation)

• तुल्यम्: equal (match)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तुल्य
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular (used predicatively)

• अन्यम्: another (person)
• अन्यम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective/Pronoun
• Root: अन्य
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• मन्ये: I think / I consider
• Type: Verb
• Root: मन् (मन्यते)
• Form: Present, Ātmanepada, 1st person, Singular

• मनुष्यम्: a man
• मनुष्यम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनुष्य
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• धनुः: bow
• धनुः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• आददानम्: taking up / seizing
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ-दा (आददाति/आदत्ते)
• Form: Present active participle (शतृ), Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• bow (dhanuḥ)
• battlefield (āhava)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the classical kṣatriya ideal: excellence in one’s duty and skill in battle. It also cautions the listener to recognize how praise and reputation shape morale and judgment during war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya, narrating the battlefield events, singles out a particular warrior as unmatched at the moment he takes up his bow, emphasizing the intensity of the combat and the perceived supremacy of that fighter in the day’s engagement.