Shloka 75

Devanagari script

निहता हतभूयिष्ठा: संग्रामे निशितै: शरै:

Transliteration

nihatā hatabhūyiṣṭhāḥ saṅgrāme niśitaiḥ śaraiḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: “In the battle, many were struck down—indeed, the greater part of them were slain—by sharp, keen arrows.”

Word by Word

• निहताः: slain, killed
• निहताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि-हन् (धातु) → निहत (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• हतभूयिष्ठाः: mostly slain / for the most part killed
• हतभूयिष्ठाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हत + भूयिष्ठ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• संग्रामे: in the battle
• संग्रामे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संग्राम (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• निशितैः: with sharp
• निशितैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निशित (कृदन्त-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• शरैः: arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• arrows (śara)
• battle/war (saṅgrāma)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the disproportionate destruction caused by warfare: sharp weapons quickly turn a conflict into mass death. Ethically, it points to the heavy human cost that accompanies the pursuit of victory and the burden borne by those who choose the path of battle.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that on the battlefield many combatants have been killed, with most of them falling to keen arrows—an image of intense, lethal fighting and widespread casualties.