Shloka 23

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 155 — Ghaṭotkaca-nidhana-śoka and Karṇa-śakti-vyaya

Kṛṣṇa’s strategic reassurance

Devanagari script

विराटद्रुपदौ षड़भि: शतेन च शिखण्डिनम्‌ | धृष्टद्युम्नं च सप्तत्या धर्मपुत्रं च सप्तभि:

Transliteration

virāṭa-drupadau ṣaḍbhiḥ śatena ca śikhaṇḍinam | dhṛṣṭadyumnaṃ ca saptatyā dharmaputraṃ ca saptabhiḥ |

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Virāṭa und Drupada trafen Śikhaṇḍin mit sechshundert Pfeilen; Dhṛṣṭadyumna mit siebzig; und den Dharmaputra (Yudhiṣṭhira) mit sieben.

Word by Word

• विराटद्रुपदौ: Virāṭa and Drupada
• विराटद्रुपदौ: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: विराट + द्रुपद
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Dual

• षड्भिः: with six (arrows/units)
• षड्भिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: षष्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• शतेन: with a hundred
• शतेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

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

• शिखण्डिनम्: Śikhaṇḍin
• शिखण्डिनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिखण्डिन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• धृष्टद्युम्नम्: Dhṛṣṭadyumna
• धृष्टद्युम्नम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धृष्टद्युम्न
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

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

• सप्तत्या: with seventy
• सप्तत्या: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्तति
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• धर्मपुत्रम्: Dharma's son (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• धर्मपुत्रम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धर्मपुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

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

• सप्तभिः: with seven (arrows/units)
• सप्तभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्त
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Virāṭa
• Drupada
• Śikhaṇḍin
• Dhṛṣṭadyumna
• Dharmaputra (Yudhiṣṭhira)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse conveys the harsh realism of kṣatriya-duty: even righteous leaders must act decisively in war, applying force in a controlled, purposeful way rather than through indiscriminate rage. It reflects how dharma in battle often appears as disciplined strategy amid unavoidable violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a specific exchange of missile-fire: Virāṭa and Drupada together shower Śikhaṇḍin with six hundred arrows, while Dhṛṣṭadyumna is hit with seventy and Yudhiṣṭhira (Dharmaputra) with seven—indicating targeted engagement and differing levels of pressure on key Pāṇḍava figures.