Shloka 806

Devanagari script

त॑ चैव निकृतिप्रज्ञा: प्राहरञ्छरवृष्टिभि: । “उसके द्वारा धनुष कट जानेपर रणभूमिमें शेष पाँच महारथी, जो शठतापूर्ण बर्ताव करनेमें प्रवीण थे, बाणोंकी वर्षाद्वारा अभिमन्युको घायल करने लगे

Transliteration

taṁ caiva nikṛtiprajñāḥ prāharan śaravṛṣṭibhiḥ |

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Und jene Männer, deren Sinn auf Trug gerichtet war, trafen ihn immer wieder mit Pfeilschauern. Im moralischen Licht der Erzählung zeigt dies den Zusammenbruch der Kriegerethik: Statt fairen Kampfes greifen sie zu List und gemeinschaftlichem Angriff, um einen einzelnen Gegner zu überwältigen.

Word by Word

• ते: they (those)
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

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

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• निकृतिप्रज्ञाः: having intelligence in deceit; deceit-minded
• निकृतिप्रज्ञाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निकृतिप्रज्ञ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• प्राहरन्: they struck/assailed
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-हृ
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• शरवृष्टिभिः: with showers of arrows
• शरवृष्टिभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरवृष्टि
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Abhimanyu (implied by context)
• arrows (śara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how deceitful intent (nikṛti) corrupts judgment (prajñā) and leads to adharma in war—violence becomes not merely force but a moral failure when it abandons fairness and restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

After the hero is put at a disadvantage (as the surrounding context indicates, his bow being cut), the opposing warriors—described as deceit-minded—assail him with a concentrated shower of arrows, intensifying the imbalance of the fight.