Shloka 15

अध्याय १५९ — रात्रौ श्रमविरामः

Night Exhaustion and Brief Pause in Battle

Devanagari script

सा पाण्डवेन प्रहिता बाह्लीकस्य शिरो5हरत्‌

Transliteration

sā pāṇḍavena prahitā bāhlīkasya śiro ’harat

Translation

সঞ্জয়ে ক’লে—পাণ্ডৱে প্ৰহিত সেই অস্ত্ৰই বাহ্লীকৰ মূৰ কাটি পেলালে।

Word by Word

• सा: she
• सा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• पाण्डवेन: by the Pandava
• पाण्डवेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• प्रहिता: sent/impelled (by)
• प्रहिता: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र-हि (धातु: हि/हिण् ‘to send/impel’) + क्त
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• बाह्लीकस्य: of Bahlika
• बाह्लीकस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाह्लीक
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• शिरः: head
• शिरः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अहरत्: carried off / took away
• Type: Verb
• Root: हृ (हरति)
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), Third, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Pāṇḍava (warrior)
• Bāhlīka
• missile/weapon (implicit: sā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the grim ethical tension of kṣatriya-dharma in total war: once conflict is embraced and escalates, even respected elders become vulnerable, and victory is purchased through irreversible loss—highlighting the destructive momentum of adharma-fueled hostility.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a weapon hurled by a Pāṇḍava warrior strikes Bāhlīka and severs his head, marking Bāhlīka’s fall in the Drona Parva battle sequence.