Shloka 11

Adhyāya 14: Śalya’s Missile-Pressure and the Pāṇḍava Convergence (शल्यस्य शरवर्षम्)

Devanagari script

ते वध्यमाना: समरे पार्थनामाड्कितै: शरै:

Transliteration

te vadhyamānāḥ samare pārthanāmāṅkitaiḥ śaraiḥ

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Mitten im Getümmel wurden sie von Pfeilen niedergestreckt, die den Namen Pārtha trugen — Geschosse, die ihre Herkunft verkündeten und das Gemetzel unverkennbar machten. Die Zeile betont die düstere Klarheit der Verantwortung im Krieg: Taten sind nicht anonym, und die Handlungsgewalt des Kriegers trägt er offen auf seinen Waffen.

Word by Word

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

• वध्यमानाः: being slain / being struck down
• वध्यमानाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वध्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural, Present passive participle (शानच्), passive sense

• समरे: in battle
• समरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समर
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• पार्थनाम्: of the sons of Pṛthā (the Pāṇḍavas)
• पार्थनाम्: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• आड्कितैः: marked/engraved; (here) well-aimed/characterized
• आड्कितैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आड्कित
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural, Past passive participle (क्त), adjectival

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Pārtha (Arjuna)
• arrows (śara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even amid mass violence, action is owned: the arrows bear the warrior’s name, symbolizing clear agency and responsibility. The verse hints that dharma in war includes accountability—one cannot hide behind the chaos of battle.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes combatants being cut down in the battlefield by arrows identified as Pārtha’s, emphasizing the intensity of the fighting and the recognizable prowess of the archer whose missiles are striking them.