Shloka 153

Devanagari script

कदर्थीकृत्य राजेन्द्र शरवर्षरवाकिरत्‌ । राजेन्द्र! तब उत्तम अस्त्रवेत्ताओंमें श्रेष्ठ अर्जुनने उन सबके अस्त्रोंको नष्ट करके उन्हें बाणोंकी वर्षासे ढक दिया

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | kadarthīkṛtya rājendra śaravarṣa-ravākirat | rājendra! tadā uttama astravettṝṇāṃ śreṣṭhaḥ arjunaḥ teṣāṃ sarveṣām astrāṇi naṣṭvā tān bāṇānāṃ varṣaṇā ācchādayām āsa |

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: „O König, nachdem er sie gedemütigt hatte, überschüttete er sie mit einem dröhnenden Regen von Pfeilen. O Bester der Könige, dann vernichtete Arjuna—der Vortrefflichste unter den erlesensten Waffenmeistern—alle ihre Geschosse und bedeckte sie mit einem Wolkenbruch von Pfeilen.“

Word by Word

• कदर्थीकृत्य: having humiliated / having ill-treated
• Type: Verb
• Root: कदर्थी√कृ (कदर्थीकरण)
• Form: क्त्वा-प्रत्ययान्त अव्यय (gerund), कर्तरि

• राजेन्द्र: O king of kings (O best of kings)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजेन्द्र
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• शरवर्षरवाकिरत्: he/it showered / covered by scattering
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ√किर्
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Arjuna
• Dhritarashtra (implied by address rājendra)
• arrows (śara/bāṇa)
• astras (missiles/weapons)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights disciplined mastery and strategic restraint in warfare: Arjuna neutralizes opponents’ weapons first, then overwhelms them with controlled force—an image of power governed by skill and duty rather than chaos.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that Arjuna, the foremost weapon-master, destroys the enemy missiles and then blankets the opposing fighters with a thunderous shower of arrows, asserting dominance on the battlefield.