Shloka 15

Devanagari script

ते सर्वतः समकीर्यन्त राजन्‌ पार्थेषव: कर्णरथं विशन्त: । अवाडूमुखा: पक्षिगणा दिनान्ते विशन्ति केतार्थमिवाशु वृक्षम्‌,राजन! वे अर्जुनके बाण कर्णके रथमें घुसकर सब ओर बिखर जाते थे। ठीक उसी तरह, जैसे संध्याके समय पक्षियोंके झुंड बसेरा लेनेके लिये नीचे मुख किये शीघ्र ही किसी वृक्षपर जा बैठते हैं

Transliteration

te sarvataḥ samakīryanta rājan pārtheṣavaḥ karṇarathaṁ viśantaḥ | avāḍūmukhāḥ pakṣigaṇā dinānte viśanti ketārtham ivāśu vṛkṣam, rājan |

Translation

Sañjaya said: O King, Arjuna’s arrows, entering Karṇa’s chariot from every side, were scattering and lodging all around it. It was like flocks of birds at day’s end, beaks lowered, swiftly settling into a tree to find their roost.

Word by Word

• {'te': 'they (those)', 'sarvataḥ': 'from all sides, everywhere', 'samakīryanta': 'were scattered, were strewn about', 'rājan': 'O king', 'pārtheṣavaḥ': 'Pārtha’s arrows (Arjuna’s shafts)', 'karṇaratham': 'Karṇa’s chariot', 'viśantaḥ': 'entering, penetrating', 'avāḍūmukhāḥ': 'with faces/beaks bent downward', 'pakṣigaṇāḥ': 'flocks of birds', 'dinānte': 'at the end of the day, at dusk', 'viśanti': 'enter, settle into', 'ketārtham': 'for the sake of a resting-place/roost (ketā = abode/settlement)', 'iva': 'like, as', 'āśu': 'quickly', 'vṛkṣam': 'tree'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• King Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Arjuna (Pārtha)
• Karṇa
• Karṇa’s chariot
• arrows
• birds
• tree

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how concentrated effort and skill manifest in action: Arjuna’s arrows strike with such inevitability that they resemble birds instinctively converging on a roost at dusk. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s tension—excellence in duty (kṣātra prowess) unfolding within a tragic war among kin.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Arjuna’s barrage against Karṇa: arrows enter Karṇa’s chariot from all directions and end up scattered and embedded around it. He illustrates the scene with a simile of birds quickly settling into a tree at day’s end.