Shloka 42

Devanagari script

क्षुरप्रेण सुतीक्ष्णेन मुष्टिदेशे महद्‌ धनु:

Transliteration

kṣurapreṇa sutīkṣṇena muṣṭideśe mahad dhanuḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: With a razor-edged, exceedingly sharp arrow, he struck at the grip of the great bow—aiming to disable the weapon itself rather than merely wound the warrior.

Word by Word

• क्षुरप्रेण: with a razor(-like arrowhead)
• क्षुरप्रेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षुरप्र (क्षुर + प्र)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• सुतीक्ष्णेन: very sharp
• सुतीक्ष्णेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुतीक्ष्ण
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• मुष्टिदेशे: at the grip/handle part (of the bow)
• मुष्टिदेशे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मुष्टिदेश (मुष्टि + देश)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• महत्: great, large
• महत्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• धनुः: bow
• धनुः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस्
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• kṣurapra (razor-headed arrow)
• dhanuḥ (bow)
• muṣṭideśa (bow-grip/handhold)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a battlefield ethic where victory often depends on skillful, targeted action—neutralizing an opponent’s capacity to fight (by striking the bow-grip) rather than indiscriminate harm, reflecting strategic intelligence within the harsh framework of dharma-yuddha as it is contested in the epic.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a combat moment in which a warrior uses a razor-headed, extremely sharp arrow to strike the grip area of a mighty bow, attempting to disable or compromise the enemy’s weapon in the midst of the Drona Parva fighting.