Shloka 286

Devanagari script

भीष्म: प्रासृजदुग्राणि शरजालानि मारिष । “माननीय कुन्तीनन्दन! पाण्डववीरोंने जब वहाँ सेनाके प्रमुख भागका विनाश कर डाला, तब भीष्मजी भयंकर बाणसमूहोंकी वृष्टि करने लगे

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | bhīṣmaḥ prāsṛjad ugrāṇi śarajālāni māriṣa |

Translation

Sanjaya said: “O noble one, Bhishma unleashed fierce nets of arrows. Even after the Pandava heroes had shattered the main body of the army there, Bhishma began to pour down a terrifying shower of shafts.”

Word by Word

• भीष्मः: Bhishma
• भीष्मः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीष्म
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रासृजत्: released, discharged
• Type: Verb
• Root: सृज्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• उग्राणि: fierce, terrible
• उग्राणि: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उग्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• शरजालानि: nets/volleys of arrows
• शरजालानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरजाल
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• मारिष: O noble one (term of address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मारिष
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Bhishma
• Pandavas (Pāṇḍava-vīrāḥ)
• arrows (śara)
• arrow-net/volley (śarajāla)
• army/main division (senā, pradhāna-bhāga—implied by the Hindi gloss)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the grim persistence of kṣatriya-duty in war: even when formations collapse and destruction is evident, a warrior like Bhishma continues to fight with full force. It implicitly raises the ethical tension between steadfast duty and the escalating suffering produced by relentless combat.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports that Bhishma responds to the Pandava warriors’ devastation of the army’s main contingent by releasing a dense, fearsome volley of arrows—intensifying the battle and attempting to check their advance.