Shloka 4

भीष्मस्य शरशय्या-प्राप्तिः

Bhīṣma’s Fall to the Arrow-Bed

Devanagari script

शैनेय: शरसंघं तु प्रेषयामास संयुगे । राक्षसाय सुसंक़्रुद्धो माधव: परवीरहा

Transliteration

Śaineyaḥ śarasaṅghaṃ tu preṣayāmāsa saṃyuge | Rākṣasāya susaṅkruddho Mādhavaḥ paravīrahā ||

Translation

তখন শৈনেয় মাধব (সাত্যকি) প্রবল ক্রোধে সমরে সেই রাক্ষসের দিকে তীরের ঘন স্রোত প্রেরণ করল; পরবীর-সংহারী সে শত্রুবীরদের বিনাশে উদ্যত হল।

Word by Word

• शैनेयः: Śaineya (Sātyaki)
• शैनेयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शैनेय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• शर-संघम्: a mass/cluster of arrows
• शर-संघम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर (प्रातिपदिक) + संघ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• प्रेषयामास: sent/shot forth
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-इष् (धातु) / प्रेषय् (णिच्-धातु)
• Form: Perfect (Periphrastic), Third, Singular

• संयुगे: in battle
• संयुगे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संयुग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• राक्षसाय: to/against the rākṣasa (demon)
• राक्षसाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: राक्षस (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Dative, Singular

• सु-संक्रुद्धः: very enraged
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु (उपसर्ग/अव्यय) + संक्रुद्ध (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक, √क्रुध्)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• माधवः: Mādhava (Sātyaki/Kṛṣṇa epithet; here Sātyaki per context)
• माधवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: माधव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पर-वीर-हा: slayer of enemy-heroes
• Type: Noun
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक) + वीर (प्रातिपदिक) + हन् (धातु; कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक 'हा')
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Śaineya (Sātyaki)
• Rākṣasa (a demon-like warrior/opponent)
• śarasaṅgha (volley of arrows)
• saṃyuga (battlefield)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the kṣatriya ethos in wartime: when conflict is joined, a warrior is expected to act decisively against an aggressor. It also implicitly warns that wrath (krodha) is a powerful driver in battle—effective for action, yet ethically ambivalent—so it must be subordinated to duty (dharma) rather than personal hatred.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Sātyaki (Śaineya), inflamed with anger, begins showering a Rākṣasa opponent with a concentrated barrage of arrows on the battlefield, emphasizing his role as a formidable slayer of enemy champions.