Shloka 59

Devanagari script

अन्यस्य सव्य: सह वर्मणा च क्षुरप्रकृत्त: पतितो धरण्याम्‌ | एवं समस्तानपि योधमुख्यान्‌ विध्वंसयामास किरीटमाली

Transliteration

anyasya savyaḥ saha varmaṇā ca kṣuraprakṛttaḥ patito dharaṇyām | evaṃ samastān api yodhamukhyān vidhvaṃsayāmāsa kirīṭamālī ||

Translation

三阇耶曰：又有一名战士，其左臂连同护甲，被刃如剃刀的箭矢削断，坠落于地。就这样，那戴冠的英雄（基利多摩利）继续摧毁战阵，连诸将领中的最前列者也尽皆斩落。

Word by Word

अन्यस्यof another (warrior)

सव्यःleft (arm/side)

सहtogether with

वर्मणाwith the armor

चand

क्षुरप्रकृत्तःcut off by a razor(-like weapon)

पतितःfallen

धरण्याम्on the ground

एवम्thus

समस्तान्all (of them)

अपिeven/also

योधमुख्यान्chief warriors

विध्वंसयामासdestroyed

किरीटमालीthe diadem-wearer (Arjuna)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

स

संजय (Sañjaya)

क

किरीटमाली (Kirīṭamālī—Arjuna)

व

वर्म (armour)

ध

धरणी (earth/ground)

क

क्षुर (razor; metaphor for razor-edged arrow/weapon)

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 underscores the grim reality of dharma-yuddha: even when fighting is framed as a Kṣatriya obligation, its execution is severe and irreversible. It highlights how prowess and duty in war can manifest as relentless destruction, reminding readers that ethical responsibility and the tragic cost of conflict remain inseparable.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a battlefield scene in which the diadem-wearing Arjuna severs a warrior’s left arm along with its armour using a razor-like missile, and continues in the same way to cut down many leading warriors.