Shloka 32

Devanagari script

अथान्यद्‌ धनुरादाय नकुल: क्रोधमूर्च्छित:

Transliteration

athānyad dhanur ādāya nakulaḥ krodha-mūrcchitaḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then Nakula, overcome and carried away by anger, took up another bow—signaling a renewed resolve to re-enter the fight with heightened intensity, as wrath begins to steer the warrior’s action amid the moral strain of war.

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• अन्यत्: another (one)
• अन्यत्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

• धनुः: bow
• धनुः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस्
• Form: neuter, accusative, singular

• आदाय: having taken
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + दा
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), parasmaipada (usage as avyaya-kriyāviśeṣaṇa)

• नकुलः: Nakula
• नकुलः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नकुल
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• क्रोधमूर्च्छितः: overcome by anger
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रोध-मूर्च्छित
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular, क्त (past passive participle), मूर्छ्

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Nakula
• bow (dhanuḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how anger can seize a warrior’s mind and redirect action; in the Mahābhārata’s ethical frame, even when battle is a duty, yielding to krodha risks clouding judgment and dharmic restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Nakula, overwhelmed by anger, picks up another bow—indicating he is preparing to continue or intensify his combat after a shift in the immediate battle situation.