Shloka 84

Devanagari script

ततस्तमेकं बहव: परिवार्य समन्तत: । परिकाल्य कुरून्‌ सर्वान्‌ शरवर्षरवाकिरन्‌

Transliteration

tatas tam ekaṁ bahavaḥ parivārya samantataḥ | parikālya kurūn sarvān śaravarṣa-ravākiran ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then many warriors surrounded that lone hero on every side. Driving back all the Kurus in every direction, they began to shower him with a roaring rain of arrows.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• एकम्: alone, single
• Type: Adjective
• Root: एक
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• बहवः: many
• बहवः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• परिवार्य: having surrounded
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि + √वृ (वृञ् वरणे/वर्तने)
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral as gerund)

• समन्ततः: on all sides
• समन्ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्ततः

• परिकाल्य: having driven off / having harried
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि + √कल्/काल् (कलने/चालने; here: drive/harass)
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral as gerund)

• कुरून्: the Kurus
• कुरून्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कुरु
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• सर्वान्: all
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• शरवर्षरवाकिरन्: they showered/scattered (with) the sound of a rain of arrows
• शरवर्षरवाकिरन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: शर-वर्ष-रव-आकिरत् (परि/आ + √कॄ/किर्; here: √कॄ/किर् 'to scatter, pour')
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Kurus (Kauravas)
• arrows (śara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a battlefield ethic of coordinated action: when a single powerful warrior endangers the larger force, many unite to contain him. It reflects kṣatriya-dharma in practice—courage and strategy—while also hinting at the moral tension of war, where necessity can justify overwhelming force against an individual.

What is happening in the narrative?

After a turn in the fighting, many warriors close in around a lone fighter, encircling him from all sides. They push back the Kurus across the field and unleash a loud, continuous barrage of arrows, intensifying the pressure and shifting momentum.