Shloka 16

Devanagari script

दृश्यादृश्यानरिगणानुद्दिश्याचार्यनन्दन:,फिर धूमरहित अग्निके समान एक तेजस्वी बाणको अभिमन्त्रित करके शत्रुवीरोंका संहार करनेवाले आचार्यनन्दन अभश्रत्थामाने सर्वथा क्रोधावेशसे युक्त हो उसे प्रत्यक्ष और परोक्ष शत्रुओंके उद्देश्यसे चला दिया

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | dṛśyādṛśyān arigaṇān uddiśyācāryanandanaḥ | dhūmarahitāgnisamaṃ tejasvinaṃ bāṇam abhimantrya śatravīrasaṃhārakara ācāryanandano ’śvatthāmā sarvathā krodhāveśayuktaḥ taṃ pratyakṣa-parokṣaśatrūn uddiśya mumoca |

Translation

Sañjaya said: Aśvatthāmā, the son of the preceptor, overwhelmed on every side by a surge of wrath, invoked a radiant arrow blazing like smokeless fire. Aiming it against the host of enemies—those visible and those hidden—he released it, intent on the destruction of the opposing warriors. The verse underscores how anger, once enthroned, turns even consecrated power into an instrument of indiscriminate ruin.

Word by Word

दृश्यvisible

अदृश्यinvisible

अरी-गणान्groups of enemies

उद्दिश्यhaving aimed at / intending

आचार्य-नन्दनःthe teacher's son (Aśvatthāman)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

स

संजय (Sañjaya)

अ

अश्वत्थामा (Aśvatthāmā)

द

द्रोण (Droṇa) (implied by 'ācārya')

ब

बाण (enchanted arrow)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral danger of krodha (rage): when anger dominates, even sacredly empowered means (abhimantrita weapons) are directed toward broad, potentially indiscriminate harm, blurring ethical restraint in warfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes Aśvatthāmā, Droṇa’s son, empowering a blazing arrow with mantras and releasing it against enemy warriors—both those in plain sight and those not directly visible—driven by intense wrath.