Shloka 34

Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 58 — Arjuna’s Arrow-Storm and Relief of Bhīmasena

Devanagari script

ततो द्रौणि: सुसंक्रुद्ध: शरै: संनतपर्वभि:

Transliteration

tato drauṇiḥ susaṃkruddhaḥ śaraiḥ saṃnataparvabhiḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then Droṇi’s son (Aśvatthāmā), inflamed with fierce anger, attacked with arrows whose joints were well-bent and firmly set—missiles loosed with disciplined skill amid the war’s moral turmoil, where wrath drives action and mastery of arms becomes a decisive, if ethically burdened, instrument.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya

• द्रौणिः: Drauni (son of Drona; Ashvatthaman)
• द्रौणिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रौणि (द्रोण-अपत्य/वंशज)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• सुसंक्रुद्धः: highly enraged
• सुसंक्रुद्धः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुसंक्रुद्ध (कृध्/क्रुध् धातु; कृदन्त-विशेषण)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• संनतपर्वभिः: having bent joints (i.e., well-formed/curved-knotted shafts)
• संनतपर्वभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संनतपर्वन् (पर्वन्-प्रातिपदिक; बहुव्रीहिसमास)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Drauṇi (Aśvatthāman)
• arrows (śara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how anger (krodha) can become the immediate driver of action in war, even when the action is executed with high discipline and technical mastery—suggesting that skill without inner restraint can intensify harm and ethical peril.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Aśvatthāman (Droṇa’s son) becomes intensely enraged and begins a forceful assault, releasing expertly made arrows as the battle escalates.