Shloka 45

Adhyāya 16: Saṃśaptaka-vrata and the Diversion of Arjuna (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय १६)

Devanagari script

ततः किरीटी सहसा द्रोणानीकमुपाद्रवत्‌ । ये उस मार-काटसे भरे हुए संग्राममें रक्तकी नदी बहाकर आये थे। उसमें शोणित ही जल था। रथकी भँवरें उठ रही थीं। शूरवीरोंकी हड्डियाँ उसमें शिलाखण्डोंके समान बिखरी हुई थीं। प्रेतोंके कंकाल उस नदीके कूल-किनारे जान पड़ते थे, जिन्हें वह अपने वेगसे तोड़- फोड़कर बहाये लिये जाती थी। बाणोंके समुदाय उसमें फेनोंके बहुत बड़े ढेरके समान जान पड़ते थे। प्रास आदि शस्त्र उसमें मत्स्यके समान छाये हुए थे। उस नदीको वेगपूर्वक पार करके कौरव-सैनिकोंको भगाकर पाण्डुनन्दन किरीटधारी अर्जुनने सहसा द्रोणाचार्यकी सेनापर आक्रमण किया ।। ४३-४४ $ || 7 १ लोड ० ! हर ॥ प्र है > मई छादयन्निषुजालेन महता मोहयन्निव,वे अपने बाणोंके महान्‌ समुदायसे द्रोणाचार्यको मोहमें डालते हुए-से आच्छादित करने लगे। यशस्वी कुन्तीकुमार अर्जुन इतनी शीघ्रताके साथ निरन्तर बाणोंको धनुषपर रखते और छोड़ते थे कि किसीको इन दोनों क्रियाओंमें तनिक भी अन्तर नहीं दिखायी देता था

Transliteration

tataḥ kirīṭī sahasā droṇānīkam upādravat | chādayann iṣujālena mahatā mohayann iva ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then the diadem-crowned Arjuna suddenly charged straight at Droṇa’s battle-array. As he advanced, he seemed to bewilder Droṇa by veiling him with a vast net of arrows. The renowned son of Kuntī set arrows on his bow and released them with such unbroken speed that no one could perceive any gap between the placing and the shooting. In the moral atmosphere of the epic, this is prowess employed in a grim necessity of war—skill and resolve directed toward breaking an opposing command, even as the battlefield itself is portrayed as a river of blood that exposes the ethical cost of victory.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

किरीटीthe diadem-wearer (Arjuna)

सहसाsuddenly, at once

द्रोणof Droṇa

अनीकम्army, battle-array

उपाद्रवत्rushed upon, charged at

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Arjuna (Kirīṭī)

Droṇācārya (Droṇa)

Droṇa’s army/battle-array (Droṇānīka)

Bow

Arrows (iṣu)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage highlights disciplined mastery and unwavering resolve in the midst of dharmic crisis: Arjuna’s extraordinary skill is shown as purposeful action within war, while the surrounding imagery of slaughter underscores that even justified combat carries grave moral and human cost.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Arjuna suddenly charging Droṇa’s formation and overwhelming it with a dense, continuous shower of arrows, so rapid that observers cannot distinguish the moment of nocking from the moment of release.