Mahabharata 7.136.29 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 136, Shloka 29

Chapter 136: Pandava Counter-Encirclement and the Vāyavya-Astra Disruption

Devanagari script

ते भीमसेनस्य भुजं सब्यं निर्भिद्य पत्रिण:

Transliteration

te bhīmasenasya bhujaṃ savyaṃ nirbhidya patriṇaḥ

Translation

قال سنجيا: إن المحاربين حَمَلةَ السهام ثقبوا ذراعَ بهيماسينا اليسرى—مشهدٌ يجسّد قسوة المعركة التي لا ترحم، حيث يُجرَح حتى الأقوى، وتغدو القدرة على الاحتمال امتحانًا للعزم وسط الفوضى الأخلاقية للحرب.

Word by Word

• ते: they
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• भीमसेनस्य: of Bhimasena
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीमसेन
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• भुजम्: arm
• भुजम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भुज
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• सव्यं: left
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सव्य
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• निर्भिद्य: having pierced / after piercing
• Type: Verb
• Root: निर्भिद् (नि + √भिद्)
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)

• पत्रिणः: arrow(s) (lit. feathered ones)
• पत्रिणः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्रिन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhīmasena (Bhīma)
• left arm (savya-bhuja)
• arrows (patriṇaḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the harsh reality of dharma-yuddha as experienced on the battlefield: even great strength is vulnerable, and steadfastness under injury becomes a measure of warriorly resolve, while also hinting at the tragic cost of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that arrow-bearing fighters strike Bhīma, piercing his left arm—describing a specific moment of injury amid the ongoing combat in the Droṇa Parva.