Shloka 41

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

Devanagari script

सच्छिन्नधन्वा विरथो हताश्वचो हतसारथि:

Transliteration

sacchinnadhanvā viratho hatāśvo hata-sārathiḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: With his bow cut to pieces, deprived of his chariot, his horses slain, and his charioteer killed, the warrior stood utterly disabled in the chariot-war.

Word by Word

• सत्: good; noble; true
• सत्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सत् (प्रातिपदिक; √अस्-शतृ)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• छिन्न-धन्वा: whose bow is cut/broken
• छिन्न-धन्वा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: छिन्न (√छिद्, क्त) + धन्वन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• विरथः: without a chariot; dismounted
• विरथः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विरथ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• हत-अश्वः: whose horses are slain
• हत-अश्वः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हत (√हन्, क्त) + अश्व (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• हत-सारथिः: whose charioteer is slain
• हत-सारथिः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हत (√हन्, क्त) + सारथि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• bow (dhanus)
• chariot
• horses
• charioteer (sārathi)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the fragility of martial advantage: even a chariot-warrior’s strength depends on supports—weapon, chariot, horses, and charioteer. In the ethical frame of the Mahābhārata, it highlights impermanence and the swift reversal of fortune that tests a kṣatriya’s resolve and conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a battlefield moment where a warrior has been thoroughly neutralized: his bow is shattered, he is left without a chariot, and both his horses and charioteer have been killed—signaling a decisive tactical disadvantage and imminent peril.