Shloka 46

भीष्मधनंजयद्वैरथम्

Bhīṣma–Dhanaṃjaya Duel and the Opening Clash

Devanagari script

भीष्मचापविमुक्तानि शरजालानि संघश:

Transliteration

bhīṣma-cāpa-vimuktāni śara-jālāni saṅghaśaḥ

Translation

قال سنجيا: من قوس بهيشما انطلقت، في وابلٍ كثيف، كتلٌ من السهام كأنها شِباك—مطرٌ جارِف—يُنبئ بزخم المعركة الرهيب وبالقوة غير الشخصية لحربٍ يسوقها الواجب (الدارما).

Word by Word

• भीष्मचापविमुक्तानि: released from Bhīṣma's bow
• भीष्मचापविमुक्तानि: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भीष्म-चाप-विमुक्त
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• शरजालानि: masses/nets of arrows
• शरजालानि: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरजाल
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• संघशः: in groups; in masses
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: संघशस्

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhīṣma
• bow
• arrows

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the relentless, impersonal machinery of war when warriors act under kṣatriya-dharma: skill and resolve can manifest as overwhelming force, reminding the listener that duty in battle carries grave ethical weight even when performed with discipline.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Bhīṣma unleashing dense volleys of arrows from his bow, creating a ‘net’ of missiles—an image of battlefield dominance and the intensification of combat.