Shloka 20

Devanagari script

यो यः सम समरे पार्थ प्रतिसंचरते नर: । तस्य तस्यान्तको बाण: शरीरमुपसर्पति,जो-जो मनुष्य उस समरांगणमें अर्जुनका सामना करनेके लिये चलता था, उस-उसके शरीरपर प्राणान्तकारी बाण आ गिरता था

Transliteration

yo yaḥ sama samare pārtha pratisañcarate naraḥ | tasya tasyāntako bāṇaḥ śarīram upasarpati ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: In that battle, whoever advanced to confront Pārtha (Arjuna), for each such man a death-dealing arrow swiftly found its way to his body. The verse lays bare the grim moral weight of war: courage and aggression meet an answering force, and the battlefield turns intent into consequence without delay.

Word by Word

यःwho

यःwho (each one)

समम्directly, face-to-face, equally

समरेin the battle

पार्थम्Arjuna (son of Pṛthā)

प्रतिसंचरतेapproaches, advances against

नरःa man, warrior

तस्यof him

तस्यof that (each such one)

अन्तकःdeath-dealing, deadly

बाणःarrow

शरीरम्body

उपसर्पतिcomes upon, reaches, falls upon

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Pārtha (Arjuna)

bāṇa (arrow)

samara (battlefield)

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 the immediacy of karmic consequence in war: intent to harm and the choice to confront a superior archer meet a swift, lethal result. It also reflects the ethical gravity of kṣatriya conflict—valor operates within a tragic economy where life is constantly at stake.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that on the battlefield anyone who advanced to face Arjuna was struck by a fatal arrow. The line emphasizes Arjuna’s overwhelming martial effectiveness at this moment in Droṇa Parva.