Shloka 31

Devanagari script

तांस्तु भल्लैमहावेगैर्दशभिर्दश भारत

Transliteration

tāṁs tu bhallair mahāvegair daśabhir daśa bhārata

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: O Bhārata, mit zehn pfeilschnellen, wuchtigen bhalla-Pfeilen traf er sie—zehn um zehn—und zeigte die unerbittliche Präzision des Krieges, in dem Können zu Vernichtung wird statt zu Selbstzucht.

Word by Word

• तान्: them
• तान्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• भल्लैः: with arrows (bhallas)
• भल्लैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भल्ल
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• महावेगैः: with great speed/force
• महावेगैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महावेग
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• दशभिः: with ten
• दशभिः: Karana
• Type: Numeral
• Root: दशन्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• दश: ten (persons/units)
• दश: Karma
• Type: Numeral
• Root: दशन्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• भारत: O Bharata
• Type: Noun (vocative epithet)
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhārata (Dhṛtarāṣṭra as addressee)
• bhalla arrows

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how extraordinary capability and focus, when placed in the context of war, become instruments of harm; it implicitly invites reflection on the ethical weight of power and the tragic inevitability of violence once dharma collapses into conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a warrior (contextually identified in surrounding verses) strikes the opposing targets with ten powerful, fast bhalla arrows, distributing the blows ‘ten by ten’ as a display of battlefield dominance.