Shloka 6

भीमसेनस्य गदायुद्ध-प्रभावः

The Battlefield Impact of Bhīmasena’s Mace Combat

Devanagari script

स शल्यं पञ्चविंशत्या कृपं च नवशभि: शरै: । अश्वत्थामानमष्टाभिविंव्याध पुरुषर्षभ:,उस पुरुषरत्न अभिमन्युने शल्यको पचीस, कृपाचार्यको नौ और अश्वत्थामाको आठ बाणोंसे बींध डाला

Transliteration

sa śalyaṃ pañcaviṃśatyā kṛpaṃ ca navaśabhiḥ śaraiḥ | aśvatthāmānam aṣṭābhir vivyādha puruṣarṣabhaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Jener Stier unter den Menschen, Abhimanyu, durchbohrte Śalya mit fünfundzwanzig Pfeilen, Kṛpa mit neun und Aśvatthāmā mit acht.

Word by Word

• सः: he (that one)
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• शल्यं: Shalya
• शल्यं: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शल्य
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• पञ्चविंशत्या: with twenty-five
• पञ्चविंशत्या: Karana
• Type: Numeral
• Root: पञ्चविंशति
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• कृपं: Kripa
• कृपं: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृप
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• नवभिः: with nine
• नवभिः: Karana
• Type: Numeral
• Root: नव
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• शरैः: arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• अश्वत्थामानम्: Ashvatthaman
• अश्वत्थामानम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्वत्थामन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अष्टाभिः: with eight
• अष्टाभिः: Karana
• Type: Numeral
• Root: अष्टन्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• विव्याध: pierced
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्यध्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• पुरुषर्षभः: bull among men (best of men)
• पुरुषर्षभः: Karta
• Type: Noun (epithet)
• Root: पुरुषर्षभ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Śalya
• Kṛpa (Kṛpācārya)
• Aśvatthāman
• Abhimanyu
• arrows (śara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores disciplined prowess in battle while implicitly reminding that even justified warfare (kṣatriya-dharma) carries ethical weight: skill and courage operate within a tragic field of harm and consequence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports Abhimanyu’s effective counterattack: he strikes three prominent Kaurava warriors—Śalya, Kṛpa, and Aśvatthāman—with a specified number of arrows, showing his dominance in that moment of the fight.