Shloka 1196

Adhyāya 141 — Night duels: Śaineya and Bhūriśravas; Droṇi and Ghaṭotkaca; Bhīma and Duryodhana

Devanagari script

शिलीमुखैर्महाराज मा गास्तिषछ्ठेति चाब्रवीत्‌ । महाराज! तब क्रोधमें भरे हुए अर्जुनने अश्वत्थामाको चौंसठ बाण मारे और कहा --'खड़े रहो, भागना मत”

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | śilīmukhair mahārāja mā gāstiṣṭheti cābravīt | mahārāja! tataḥ krodhena bhareṇa arjunena aśvatthāmānaṃ catuḥṣaṣṭi-bāṇaiḥ prahṛtya uktam—“tiṣṭha, mā palāyethāḥ” |

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O King, with sharp arrows he cried, ‘Do not flee—stand your ground!’ Then Arjuna, filled with wrath, struck Aśvatthāmā with sixty-four arrows and commanded him, ‘Stand and do not run away.’”

Word by Word

• शिलीमुखैः: with arrows
• शिलीमुखैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिलीमुख
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• मा: do not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: मा

• गाः: go (i.e., run away)
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम्
• Form: Imperative (prohibitive with मा), 2nd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• तिष्ठ: stand (still)
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था
• Form: Imperative, 2nd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• इति: thus
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इति

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

• अब्रवीत्: said/spoke
• Type: Verb
• Root: ब्रू
• Form: Imperfect, 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Dhritarashtra (Mahārāja)
• Arjuna
• Ashvatthama
• arrows (śilīmukha/bāṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage highlights the kshatriya ideal of not retreating from a rightful battle and meeting an opponent face-to-face. It also implicitly warns how anger can drive escalation, even when one is acting within the warrior code.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports to King Dhritarashtra that Arjuna, enraged, attacks Ashvatthama with sixty-four arrows and calls out for him to stand firm rather than flee, intensifying their battlefield confrontation.