Shloka 43

भीष्मधनंजयद्वैरथम्

Bhīṣma–Dhanaṃjaya Duel and the Opening Clash

Devanagari script

तत:ः शरसहस्रेण सुप्रयुक्तेन पाण्डव:

Transliteration

tataḥ śarasahasreṇa suprayuktena pāṇḍavaḥ

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: «Da schoss der Pāṇḍava, mit einem wohlgezielten Hagel von tausend Pfeilen, in die Schlacht hinein.»

Word by Word

• ततः: then; thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (no gender/case/number)

• शर-सहस्रेण: with a thousand arrows
• शर-सहस्रेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर + सहस्र
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

• सु-प्रयुक्तेन: well-directed; well-applied
• सु-प्रयुक्तेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र + युज् (क्त-प्रत्यय) + सु-उपसर्ग
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, तृतीया विभक्ति, एकवचन

• पाण्डवः: the Pandava (Arjuna)
• पाण्डवः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा विभक्ति, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Pāṇḍava
• arrows (śara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even within warfare, the verse highlights controlled, skillful action—force that is 'suprayukta' (properly applied). It suggests that conduct in conflict is judged not only by power but by discipline, competence, and adherence to one’s role (kṣatriya-dharma).

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a battlefield moment in which a Pāṇḍava warrior releases a massive, well-aimed volley—'a thousand arrows'—signaling an intense exchange of missiles and the escalation of combat.