Shloka 23

Devanagari script

शरैरवचकर्तोंग्रैद्रार्णिं वज्ञाशनिप्रभै: । क्षुरप्रैरर्धचन्द्रैश्ष नाराचै: सशिलीमुखै:

Transliteration

śarair avacakar toṅgrair drāriṇīṁ vajrāśaniprabhaiḥ | kṣuraprair ardhacandraiś ca nārācaiḥ saśilīmukhaiḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: With sharp, well-whetted arrows—gleaming like thunderbolts—along with razor-headed shafts, crescent-bladed missiles, heavy nārācas, and reed-like śilīmukhas, he struck down the enemy host.

Word by Word

शरैःwith arrows

अवचकर्तृ-अङ्ग्रैःwith (arrows) having cutting/cleaving tips

द्रार्णिम्Draarṇi (a proper name/person addressed/targeted)

वज्राशनि-प्रभैःwith (arrows) having the splendor of a thunderbolt

क्षुरप्रैःwith razor(-edged) arrows

अर्धचन्द्रैःwith half-moon (crescent-headed) arrows

नाराचैःwith iron arrows (nārācas)

स-शिलीमुखैःtogether with śilīmukha arrows

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

arrows (śara)

vajra (thunderbolt)

aśani (thunderbolt)

kṣurapra (razor-headed arrow)

ardhacandra (crescent arrow)

nārāca (heavy missile)

śilīmukha (type of arrow)

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 verse highlights how warfare reduces moral and political disputes to the impersonal force of weapons; it implicitly warns that even when one claims dharma, the means—violence and destruction—carry grave ethical weight and consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a combatant overwhelming the opposing army with volleys of specialized arrows—razor-headed, crescent-bladed, heavy nārācas, and śilīmukhas—emphasizing the intensity and technical arsenal of the Kurukṣetra battle.