Shloka 233

Devanagari script

सहदेवस्य भल्‍ल्लेन ध्वजं चिच्छेद मारिष | आर्य! तदनन्तर क्रोधमें भरे हुए कर्णने भीमसेनको तीस बाणोंसे घायल किया और एक भल्लसे सहदेवकी ध्वजा काट डाली

Transliteration

sahadevasya bhallena dhvajaṃ ciccheda māriṣa | ārya! tadanantaraṃ krodham-eṃ bhare hue karṇane bhīmasenako tīs bāṇoṃse ghāyal kiyā aura eka bhallase sahadevaki dhvajā kāṭa ḍālī |

Translation

Sañjaya said: O noble one, with a sharp bhalla-arrow he cut down Sahadeva’s banner. Then, filled with wrath, Karṇa struck Bhīmasena with thirty arrows, and with a single bhalla he again severed Sahadeva’s standard.

Word by Word

• सहदेवस्य: of Sahadeva
• सहदेवस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: सहदेव
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• भल्लेन: with a bhalla-arrow
• भल्लेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भल्ल
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• ध्वजम्: banner/standard
• ध्वजम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: ध्वज
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• चिच्छेद: cut off / severed
• चिच्छेद: Kriya
• Type: Verb
• Root: छिद्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular

• मारिष: O noble one / O sir
• मारिष: Sambodhana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मारिष
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Sahadeva
• Karna
• Bhimasena
• dhvaja (banner/standard)
• bhalla (arrow)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage highlights how, in war, attacks often target symbols of identity and honor (the dhvaja) to weaken an opponent’s resolve; it also shows how anger (krodha) drives escalation, reminding readers that inner states shape outward action and its ethical weight.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Karṇa, enraged, shoots Bhīma with thirty arrows and cuts down Sahadeva’s banner with a bhalla-arrow—demonstrating both physical assault and a deliberate strike at battlefield prestige.