Mahabharata 7.161.65 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 161, Shloka 65

अजिशीर्षे प्रातःसंध्यायां संग्रामवर्णनम् / Dawn-Transition Battle at Ajiśīrṣa

Chapter 161

Devanagari script

स नुन्नो$र्जुनबाणौधचैराचित: शल्यको यथा

Transliteration

sa nunno'rjunabāṇaughair ācitaḥ śalyako yathā

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Von Arjunas Pfeilstürmen getroffen und vorangetrieben, stand er voller Schäfte da — wie ein Stachelschwein; ein Bild dafür, wie unablässige Kriegskunst selbst einen erfahrenen Kämpfer im Glutkern des gerechten Kampfes überwältigen kann.

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नुन्नः: driven/impelled, struck
• नुन्नः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नुद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अर्जुन-बाण-ओघैः: by torrents/streams of Arjuna's arrows
• अर्जुन-बाण-ओघैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्जुन + बाण + ओघ
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

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

• आचितः: heaped up/filled, covered
• आचितः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आ + चि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• शल्यकः: a porcupine
• शल्यकः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शल्यक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• यथा: as/like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Arjuna
• arrows (bāṇa)
• porcupine (śalyaka)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical gravity of kṣatriya warfare: skill and resolve, when directed by one’s duty, can become an irresistible force. It also cautions that in battle, even the mighty are subject to the consequences of superior prowess and momentum.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a warrior being relentlessly struck by Arjuna’s dense volleys of arrows, so that his body appears covered with shafts, compared to a porcupine bristling with spines.