Shloka 42

Devanagari script

विरथ: स तु धर्मात्मा धनुष्पाणिरवस्थित: । अयोधयत्‌ तव सुतं किरञ्शरशतान्‌ बहून्‌,धर्मात्मा प्रतिविन्ध्य रथहीन हो जानेपर हाथमें धनुष लिये पृथ्वीपर खड़ा हो गया और सैकड़ों बाणोंकी वर्षा करता हुआ आपके पुत्रके साथ युद्ध करने लगा

Transliteration

virathaḥ sa tu dharmātmā dhanuṣpāṇir avasthitaḥ | ayodhayat tava sutaṃ kirañ śaraśatān bahūn ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Though left without a chariot, that righteous warrior stood his ground with bow in hand. Showering many hundreds of arrows, he engaged your son in battle—steadfast in dharma even amid the chaos of war.

Word by Word

वि-रथःwithout a chariot; chariotless (one)

सःhe

तुbut/indeed

धर्मात्माrighteous-souled (man)

धनुः-पाणिःhaving a bow in hand; bow-in-hand

अवस्थितःstanding; stationed

अयोधयत्made (him) fight; fought (against)

तवyour

सुतम्son

किरन्scattering; showering

शर-शतान्hundreds of arrows

बहून्many

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'tava')

your son (Duryodhana or a Kaurava prince, context-dependent)

a dharmātmā warrior (Prativindhya per the Gītā Press Hindi gloss)

bow

arrows

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 steadfastness in dharma: even when deprived of external supports (like a chariot), a righteous warrior remains resolute, fulfilling duty with courage and self-control amid violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a dharmātmā fighter, now without a chariot, stands on the ground with bow in hand and continues the fight against Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son, releasing volleys of hundreds of arrows.