Shloka 816

Devanagari script

त्रिपर्वणा त्रिशल्येन तदा तानि बिभेद सः । जब वे तीनों पुर आकाशमें एकत्र हुए, तब उन्होंने तीन गाँठ और तीन फलवाले बाणसे उन तीनों पुरोंको विदीर्ण कर डाला

Transliteration

triparvaṇā triśalyena tadā tāni bibheda saḥ |

Translation

Vyāsa said: When those three aerial cities came together in the sky at the appointed moment, he pierced and shattered them with a single arrow fitted with three joints and three barbs—an act that reveals decisive, disciplined power aimed at removing a grave threat.

Word by Word

त्रिपर्वणाwith a three-jointed (arrow)

त्रिशल्येनwith a three-barbed (arrow)

तदाthen

तानिthose (things/fortresses)

बिभेदsplit, pierced, shattered

सःhe

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vyāsa

three aerial cities (tripura)

three-jointed arrow (triparvaṇa śara)

three-barbed arrow (triśalya śara)

sky

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 focused, proportionate force used at the right moment to neutralize a concentrated danger; power becomes ethically meaningful when guided by discernment and the aim of restoring order.

What is happening in the narrative?

As the three cities align together in the sky, the hero (implied by context) uses a specially fashioned arrow—described as three-jointed and three-barbed—to pierce and destroy all three at once.