Shloka 64

Devanagari script

द्वाभ्यामतिशिताग्राभ्यामुभौ तत्‌ पार्ष्णिसारथी । ततोअस्य दीप्यमानेन पीतेन निशितेन च

Transliteration

dvābhyām atiśitāgrābhyām ubhau tat pārṣṇisārathī | tato 'sya dīpyamānena pītena niśitena ca

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then Pārṣṇi’s charioteer struck at both of them with two exceedingly sharp-pointed weapons; and thereafter he assailed him again with a blazing, yellow-hued, keen-edged missile—intensifying the violence of the combat in the midst of the war’s relentless momentum.

Word by Word

द्वाभ्याम्with two

अतिशिताग्राभ्याम्with two very sharp-pointed (weapons)

उभौboth (of them)

तत्that

पार्ष्णिसारथीthe two charioteers of Pārṣṇi (i.e., of Krishna)

ततःthen/thereupon

अस्यof him

दीप्यमानेनwith (something) blazing

पीतेनwith a yellow/golden (one)

निशितेनwith a sharp (one)

चand

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Pārṣṇi (Kṛṣṇa)

Pārṣṇi’s charioteer (Kṛṣṇa as Arjuna’s charioteer)

weapons/missiles (śastra/astra)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the grim discipline of kṣatriya-duty in war: skill, decisiveness, and escalation of force occur within a larger ethical tragedy, where even righteous sides must act amid violence and its moral weight.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a rapid sequence in battle: Pārṣṇi’s charioteer (Kṛṣṇa, serving as the charioteer) uses two very sharp-pointed weapons against two targets, and then follows up by launching or employing another blazing, yellow, keen-edged missile against an opponent.