तामसं नरशार्दूल सौमनं च महाबल। संवर्धं चैव दुर्धर्षं मौसलं च नृपात्मज।।1.27.17।। सत्यमस्त्रं महाबाहो तथा मायाधरं परम्। घोरं तेजः प्रभं नाम परतेजोऽपकर्षणम्।।1.27.18।। सौम्यास्त्रं शिशिरं नाम त्वष्टुरस्त्रं सुदामनम्। दारुणं च भगस्यापि शितेषु मथ मानवम्।।1.27.19।।
Meaning
Take Tamasa and the mighty Saumana, the formidable Samvarta and Mausala; the great Satya missile and supreme Mayadhara, and the terrible Tejahprabha that withdraws an enemy's brilliance; the gentle Shishira missile of the moon, Tvashtar's missile Sudamana, and Bhaga's dreadful Shitesu, and the Manava missile.
Word-by-word (pada-artha)
Shloka 1.27.19
| Word | Devanagari | Meaning | Grammatical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| tāmasam nara-śārdūla | तामसम् नर-शार्दूल | Tamasa, O tiger among men | Accusative singular |
| saumanam ca mahā-bala | सौमनम् च महा-बल | and Saumana, O one of great strength | Accusative singular |
| saṃvartam ca eva durdharṣam | संवर्तम् च एव दुर्धर्षम् | and Samvarta, irresistible | Accusative singular |
| mausalam ca nṛpa-ātmaja | मौसलम् च नृप-आत्मज | and the mace-weapon too, O son of the king | Accusative singular |
Shloka 1.27.20
| Word | Devanagari | Meaning | Grammatical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| satyam astram mahā-bāho | सत्यम् अस्त्रम् महा-बाहो | the weapon Satya, O mighty-armed one | Accusative singular |
| tathā māyā-dharam param | तथा माया-धरम् परम् | and likewise the supreme Mayadhara | Accusative singular |
| ghoram tejaḥ prabham nāma | घोरम् तेजः प्रभम् नाम | the terrible one named Tejahprabha | Accusative singular |
| para-tejaḥ-apakarṣaṇam | पर-तेजः-अपकर्षणम् | which draws away the splendor of others | Accusative singular |
Shloka 1.27.21
| Word | Devanagari | Meaning | Grammatical role |
|---|---|---|---|
| saumyam astram śiśiram nāma | सौम्यम् अस्त्रम् शिशिरम् नाम | the gentle weapon named Shishira | Accusative singular |
| tvaṣṭuḥ astram sudāmanam | त्वष्टुः अस्त्रम् सुदामनम् | and Sudamana, the weapon of Tvashtar | Genitive / Accusative |
| dāruṇam ca bhagasya api | दारुणम् च भगस्य अपि | and the terrible weapon of Bhaga too | Accusative singular / Genitive |
| śiteṣu atha mānavam | शितेषु अथ मानवम् | among the sharp ones, and also Manava | Locative plural / Accusative |
Scholar commentary
valmikiramayan.net Prose Commentary
Desiraju Hanumanta Rao's prose rendering with embedded explanatory notes
The source's endnote quotes Puranic verses (of untraceable original source, attributed to a dialogue where Shiva instructs Narada) describing what several of these missiles are actually like: the brahma-astra is described as containing air, fire, and cosmic poison, likened to two poison-filled fangs, radiant and enemy-destroying, invoked with a three-part hymn centered on the Gayatri; the kaala-cakra (Time disc) is described as reducing the enemy to a piteous state through illusion, ending in water and fire; and the vishnu-cakra is described as sparkling with cosmic light, of intense radiance, and revolving at a rate of a hundred thousand turns per unit distance. The source is candid that reciting these verses today would not actually produce a working weapon -- they're preserved here only to convey what tradition imagined these missiles to be like.
1 of 16 traditions have commentary on this shloka. Traditions without a verse-specific commentary here are omitted rather than filled in.
Reference: 1.27.19-21 · Bāla Kāṇḍa