Shloka 82

Devanagari script

ततो धनुज्यामवनाम्य शीघ्र शरानस्तानाधिरथेर्विंधम्य

Transliteration

tato dhanujyām avanāmya śīghraṃ śarān astānādhirather vindhamya

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then, swiftly bending down the bowstring, he set the arrows and aimed them at the chariot-warrior—an urgent act of battle-craft, showing how, in the press of war, skill and speed are turned toward the grim work of striking down an opponent.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तद्
• Form: Avyaya (ablatival adverb: 'from that/thereupon')

• धनुज्याम्: the bowstring
• धनुज्याम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुज्या
• Form: Feminine, accusative, singular

• अवनाम्य: having bent (down)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव-नम्
• Form: Absolutive (क्त्वा-न्त), 'having bent/drawn down'

• शीघ्रम्: quickly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शीघ्र
• Form: Avyaya (adverb)

• शरान्: arrows
• शरान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, accusative, plural

• अस्तान्: cast/shot (forth)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अस्त
• Form: Masculine, accusative, plural

• अधिरथेः: of Adhiratha
• Type: Noun
• Root: अधिरथ
• Form: Masculine, genitive, singular

• विंधम्य: having pierced
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्यध् (विध्/व्यध्)
• Form: Absolutive (ल्यप्/क्त्वा-समर्थ), 'having pierced'

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• bowstring
• arrows
• chariot-warrior (adhirathin)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the battlefield reality that trained skill and rapid execution become decisive; ethically, it reflects the Mahabharata’s tension between kshatriya-competence in war and the heavy moral weight of using that competence to harm.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya narrates a combat moment: a warrior quickly lowers the bowstring and sets/fixes arrows, preparing to strike a chariot-fighter in the ongoing battle.