Shloka 126

कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke

Devanagari script

इषुभिरबहुभिस्तूर्ण विद्ध्वा प्राणाज्जहार सः । अर्जुनने सब ओरसे शत्रुओंके अस्त्रोंका अपने अस्त्रोंद्वारा निवारण कर उन्हें तुरंत ही अनेक बाणोंसे घायल करके उन सबके प्राण हर लिये

Transliteration

iṣubhir abahubhis tūrṇaṁ viddhvā prāṇāj jahāra saḥ |

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Indem er sie rasch mit nicht vielen Pfeilen traf, nahm er ihnen das Leben. Arjuna wehrte von allen Seiten die feindlichen Geschosse mit seinen eigenen Waffen ab und verwundete sie sogleich mit vielen Pfeilen, um ihnen allen das Leben zu nehmen.

Word by Word

• इषुभिः: with arrows
• इषुभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: इषु
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• बहुभिः: with many
• बहुभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• तूर्णम्: quickly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तूर्णम्

• विद्ध्वा: having pierced/wounded
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्यध्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral here)

• प्राणात्: from life; from the vital breath
• प्राणात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• जहार: took away; deprived
• Type: Verb
• Root: हृ
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

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

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Arjuna
• arrows (iṣu)
• weapons/astrāṇi (implied by context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even amid war, the text highlights disciplined action: effective defense and decisive response without needless excess. It reflects the harsh ethic of kṣatriya-duty—force is used as required by the situation, not for cruelty or display.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports that Arjuna counters the enemies’ attacks, then swiftly pierces them with a small number of arrows and kills them, demonstrating tactical superiority and rapid execution on the battlefield.