Shloka 343

Devanagari script

शरै: संछादयामास समन्तात्‌ पाण्डुनन्दनम्‌ | तब सत्यसेनने शत्रुका वेग नष्ट करनेवाले दूसरे भारसाधक धनुषको हाथमें लेकर अपने बाणोंद्वारा पाण्डुनन्दन नकुलको ढक दिया

Transliteration

śaraiḥ sañchādayāmāsa samantāt pāṇḍunandanam |

Translation

Sanjaya said: With a shower of arrows he completely covered the son of Pandu on all sides. In the heat of battle, the warrior Satyasena—swift in assault and intent on breaking the enemy’s momentum—took up another powerful bow and, by his volleys, blanketed Nakula, the Pandava prince, with arrows.

Word by Word

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• संछादयामास: covered, enveloped
• संछादयामास: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: छाद् (सं-छादयति)
• Form: Perfect (Periphrastic), 3rd, Singular

• समन्तात्: on all sides, all around
• समन्तात्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्त

• पाण्डुनन्दनम्: the son of Pandu (Nakula)
• पाण्डुनन्दनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डुनन्दन
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Pāṇḍunandana (Pāṇḍava prince)
• Nakula
• Satyasena
• arrows (śara)
• bow (dhanus)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the kṣatriya battlefield ethic where resolve, skill, and tactical pressure (breaking the opponent’s momentum) are central; it portrays how war rewards disciplined force rather than hesitation, while reminding the listener that such prowess operates within the grim moral landscape of Kurukṣetra.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a warrior (identified in the accompanying gloss as Satyasena) unleashes a dense volley of arrows, surrounding and effectively ‘covering’ the Pāṇḍava Nakula from all directions, intensifying the duel and pressing the Pāṇḍava line.