Shloka 213

कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke

Devanagari script

सेषुणा पाणिना55हय प्रहसन्‌ दौणिरब्रवीत्‌ । तदनन्तर शत्रुनाशक बाणोंका प्रहार करते हुए पाण्डुपुत्र अर्जुनको बाणयुक्त हाथसे बुलाकर अभश्वत्थामाने हँसते हुए कहा--

Transliteration

sa eṣuṇā pāṇinā hūya prahasan dauṇir abravīt | tad-anantaraṁ śatru-nāśaka-bāṇānāṁ prahāraṁ kurvan pāṇḍu-putram arjunaṁ bāṇa-yukta-hastena āhūya aśvatthāmā hāsan uvāca ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then, smiling, Droṇa’s son Aśvatthāmā beckoned with his hand and spoke. Immediately thereafter, even as he loosed volleys of enemy-destroying arrows, he called to Arjuna, the son of Pāṇḍu, with his arrow-armed hand and, laughing, addressed him—turning the encounter into a taunting challenge amid the relentless violence of war.

Word by Word

• सेषुणा: with the remainder/with what was left
• सेषुणा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• पाणिना: with (his) hand
• पाणिना: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाणि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• हय: horse
• हय: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: हय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रहसन्: laughing, smiling
• प्रहसन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-हस् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• दौणिः: Drauṇi (son of Droṇa, i.e., Aśvatthāman)
• दौणिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दौणि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अब्रवीत्: said, spoke
• अब्रवीत्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: ब्रू (धातु)
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Aśvatthāmā (Droṇa’s son)
• Droṇa
• Arjuna
• Pāṇḍu
• arrows (bāṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how, in war, speech and gesture become weapons alongside arrows: laughter and beckoning can signal contempt, intimidation, or a formal challenge. Ethically, it underscores the tension between kṣatriya valor (meeting a challenge openly) and the corrosive effects of mockery and aggression that can inflame hatred and prolong violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Aśvatthāmā, while actively shooting enemy-destroying arrows, beckons Arjuna with his hand and, smiling/laughing, begins to address him—setting up a direct confrontation and verbal provocation in the midst of the battle.