Shloka 37

Devanagari script

त॑ सात्यकि: प्रत्यविध्यत्‌ तथैवावाकिरच्छरै:

Transliteration

taṁ sātyakiḥ pratyavidhyat tathaivāvākirac charaiḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: Sātyaki struck him back in return, and in the same manner showered him with arrows.

Word by Word

• तं: him
• तं: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• सात्यकिः: Sātyaki
• सात्यकिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सात्यकि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रत्यविध्यत्: pierced/struck in return
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + व्यध् (प्र + प्रति उपसर्गयुक्त)
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• तथा: thus, in the same way
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• एव: indeed, just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• अवाकिरत्: showered, scattered down
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव + किॄ (किरति)
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Sātyaki

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the battlefield ethic of immediate response: in war, a warrior’s duty is to meet an attack with equal force. It underscores how conflict tends to perpetuate itself through reciprocal retaliation rather than resolution.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates that Sātyaki counters an opponent’s strike by piercing him in return and then unleashes a dense volley of arrows, intensifying the duel.