Shloka 19

Devanagari script

आशीविषशिशुप्रख्यौ यमकालान्तकोपमौ । इन्द्रवृत्राविव क्रुद्धौ सूर्याचन्द्रसमप्रभौ

Transliteration

āśīviṣa-śiśu-prakhyau yama-kālāntakopamau | indra-vṛtrāv iva kruddhau sūryā-candra-sama-prabhau ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：“那两人宛如毒蛇之幼，凶怖如阎摩、迦罗与安多迦。又如因陀罗与弗栗陀罗般彼此震怒；其光辉相等，如日与月同耀。”

Word by Word

• आशीविष: venomous serpent
• आशीविष: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: आशीविष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• शिशु-प्रख्यौ: resembling young ones (of serpents)
• शिशु-प्रख्यौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिशु-प्रख्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• यम: Yama (god of death)
• यम: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: यम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• काल: Time / Death
• काल: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: काल
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अन्तक: Ender (death)
• अन्तक: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• उपमौ: comparable to / like
• उपमौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उपम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• इन्द्र: Indra
• इन्द्र: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वृत्रौ: Vritra (as a pair: Indra and Vritra)
• वृत्रौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृत्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

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

• क्रुद्धौ: angry
• क्रुद्धौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रुद्ध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• सूर्य: Sun
• सूर्य: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूर्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• चन्द्र: Moon
• चन्द्र: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: चन्द्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सम-प्रभौ: having equal radiance / equally radiant
• सम-प्रभौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सम-प्रभ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Yama
• Kāla
• Antaka
• Indra
• Vṛtra (Vṛtrāsura)
• Sūrya (Sun)
• Candra (Moon)
• venomous serpents (āśīviṣa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse teaches, through epic imagery, that unchecked anger and the thirst for victory can make human conflict resemble cosmic destruction—linking personal wrath to the forces of death (Yama/Kāla/Antaka) and warning of war’s capacity to eclipse moral order.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes two opposing champions poised for a decisive clash. Their mutual fury is portrayed via powerful similes—serpent-young, death-deities, Indra vs. Vṛtra, and Sun vs. Moon—to convey their terrifying might and the world-shaking intensity of their confrontation.