Shloka 433

अर्जुनस्य शीघ्रप्रयाणं भीम-शकुनियुद्धं च

Arjuna’s Rapid Advance and the Bhīma–Śakuni Encounter

Devanagari script

विचिन्वन्निव बाणौधै: समासादयदग्रगान्‌ । अधिरथपुत्र कर्ण कुपित हो विजयके लिये प्रयत्नशील, मनस्वी एवं अग्रगामी वीरोंको मानो चुन-चुनकर बाणसमूहोंद्वारा मारने लगा

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | vicinvann iva bāṇaudhaiḥ samāsādayad agragān | adhirathaputraḥ karṇaḥ kupito ho vijayāya prayatnaśīlaḥ manasvī ca agragāmī vīrān iva cuna-cunakara bāṇasaṃghaiḥ mārayām āsa |

Translation

Sañjaya said: As though choosing them one by one, Karṇa—the son of Adhiratha—angered and striving for victory, began to strike down the foremost warriors with volleys of arrows.

Word by Word

• विचिन्वन्: selecting, choosing
• विचिन्वन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + चि (धातु)
• Form: शतृ (वर्तमान कृदन्त), पुं, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• इव: as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• बाणौधैः: with torrents/hosts of arrows
• बाणौधैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाणौघ
• Form: पुं, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• समासादयत्: he attacked/assailed, reached and struck
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + आ + सद् (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतन भूत), परस्मैपद, प्रथम, एकवचन

• अग्रगान्: the foremost leaders/advance-going warriors
• अग्रगान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अग्रग
• Form: पुं, द्वितीया, बहुवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Karna
• Adhiratha
• arrows (bāṇa)
• foremost warriors (agragāḥ vīrāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage highlights the harsh battlefield ethic where victory is pursued through focused prowess: the strongest opponents are deliberately singled out, showing how determination and martial skill operate within the kṣatriya framework of war, even when the outcome entails severe violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Karṇa, enraged and intent on winning, assailing and cutting down the leading warriors with concentrated volleys of arrows, as if choosing targets one by one among the front-rank heroes.