Shloka 11

Devanagari script

अपने पति कोसलनरेश राजकुमार बृहदबलको भी चारों ओरसे घेरकर उनकी रानियाँ अलग-अलग रो रही हैं ।। अस्य गात्रगतान्‌ बाणान्‌ कार्ष्णिबाहुबलार्पितान्‌ । उद्धरन्त्यसुखाविष्टा मूर्च्छमाना: पुनः: पुन:,अभिमन्युके बाहुबलसे प्रेरित होकर कोसल-नरेशके अंगोमें धँसे हुए बाणोंको ये रानियाँ अत्यन्त दुःखी होकर निकालती हैं और बारंबार मूर्च्छित हो जाती हैं

Transliteration

vaiśampāyana uvāca | asya gātragatān bāṇān kārṣṇibāhubalārpitān | uddharanty asukhāviṣṭā mūrcchamānāḥ punaḥ punaḥ ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana said: Overwhelmed by grief, the queens surrounding him repeatedly pulled out the arrows lodged in his limbs—arrows driven in by the force of Kārṣṇi’s arm—yet again and again they fainted.

Word by Word

अस्यof this (man)

गात्रगतान्gone into the limbs / lodged in the body

बाणान्arrows

कार्ष्णिबाहुबलार्पितान्shot/placed by the arm-strength of the Kārṣṇi (Abhimanyu)

उद्धरन्तिthey pull out

असुखाविष्टाःovercome by grief/distress

मूर्च्छमानाःfainting

पुनःagain

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

Vaiśampāyana

Kārṣṇi (Abhimanyu, per context)

Bṛhadbala (prince/king of Kosala, per context)

Kosala

Queens of Bṛhadbala

Arrows (bāṇa)

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 highlights the ethical aftermath of warfare: victory and valor do not end suffering; the pain transfers to families—especially women—whose lives are shattered. It invites reflection on dharma in war and compassion for those who bear its consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

After the battle, the queens of the fallen Kosala ruler (Bṛhadbala, per the provided context) surround his body and, in intense grief, try to remove the arrows embedded in his limbs—arrows said to have been driven in by Kārṣṇi’s (Abhimanyu’s) arm-strength—fainting repeatedly as they do so.