Shloka 35

अर्जुनस्य गुरुधर्मविलापः तथा शैनेयकर्णयोर्युद्धारम्भः | Arjuna’s Lament on Guru-Dharma and the Opening of the Sātyaki–Karṇa Duel

Devanagari script

गाढविद्धानरीन्‌ कृत्वा मार्गणै: सोडतितेजनै:

Transliteration

gāḍha-viddhān arīn kṛtvā mārgaṇaiḥ soḍati-tejanaiḥ

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Mit Pfeilen von unerträglich lodernder Wucht traf er die Feinde so tief, dass sie schwer durchbohrt zurückblieben—ein Bild für den erbarmungslosen Schwung des Krieges, in dem Tapferkeit an der Fähigkeit gemessen wird, zu verwunden und zu überwältigen, nicht an Zurückhaltung.

Word by Word

• गाढ-विद्धान्: deeply pierced (ones)
• गाढ-विद्धान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गाढ (विशेषण) + विद्ध (√व्यध्)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• अरीन्: enemies
• अरीन्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अरि
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• कृत्वा: having made
• Type: Verb
• Root: √कृ
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund)

• मार्गणैः: with arrows
• मार्गणैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मार्गण
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• सूदित-तेजनैः: with sharp/keen-pointed (arrows)
• सूदित-तेजनैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सूदित (√सूद्) + तेजन
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• enemies (arayaḥ)
• arrows (mārgaṇāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line underscores the grim ethic of battlefield dharma in the epic: in the heat of war, martial excellence is portrayed through decisive, overpowering action. It also implicitly invites reflection on the cost of such excellence—victory is achieved through suffering inflicted.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a warrior (contextually, the combatant being described in the surrounding verses) shoots powerful arrows that pierce the opposing fighters deeply, leaving them severely wounded and overwhelmed.