Shloka 32

Adhyāya 40 (Book 7, Droṇa-parva): Abhimanyu’s Rapid Advance and Battlefield Disruption

Devanagari script

ततः शिलाशितैस्ती&णैर्भल्लैरानतपर्वभि:

Transliteration

tataḥ śilāśitaiḥ tīrṇaiḥ bhallair ānataparvabhiḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then, with arrows sharpened on stone—broad-headed shafts whose joints were bent downward—he pressed the attack, intensifying the violence of the encounter in the midst of the war’s relentless momentum.

Word by Word

• ततः: then; thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (काल/क्रमवाचक)

• शिलाशितैः: with stone-whetted (i.e., sharpened on stone)
• शिलाशितैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिलाशित (शिला + आशित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया बहुवचनम्

• तीक्ष्णैः: sharp
• तीक्ष्णैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीक्ष्ण
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया बहुवचनम्

• भल्लैः: with bhalla-arrows (a kind of arrow)
• भल्लैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भल्ल
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया बहुवचनम्

• आनतपर्वभिः: with (arrows) having bent joints/knots
• आनतपर्वभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आनतपर्वन् (आनत + पर्वन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया बहुवचनम्

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• bhalla (broad-headed arrows)
• śilā (stone/whetstone)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line underscores the Mahābhārata’s sober realism about war: skill and weaponry escalate conflict, and the narrative implicitly invites ethical reflection on how quickly violence intensifies once battle is joined under kṣatriya-dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a combatant’s renewed assault using specially prepared, stone-sharpened broad-headed arrows, emphasizing the technical ferocity and immediacy of the fighting in Droṇa Parva.