Shloka 22

Devanagari script

ततः शतसहस््राणि शराणां नतपर्वणाम्‌ | चिक्षिपु: समरे वीरा मयि शाल्वपदानुगा:,तदनन्तर शाल्वके अनुगामी वीरोंने युद्धमें मेरे ऊपर झुकी हुई गाँठवाले लाखों बाण बरसाये

Transliteration

tataḥ śatasahasrāṇi śarāṇāṁ nataparvaṇām | cikṣipuḥ samare vīrā mayi śālvapadānugāḥ ||

Translation

Then, in the thick of battle, the valiant warriors who followed Śālva rained upon me hundreds of thousands of arrows—shafts with bent joints—seeking to overwhelm me by sheer force.

Word by Word

• ततः: then/thereupon
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya

• शतसहस्राणि: hundreds of thousands (i.e., lakhs)
• शतसहस्राणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शतसहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• शराणाम्: of arrows
• शराणाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• नतपर्वणाम्: having bent joints/knots (barbed/with bent nodes)
• नतपर्वणाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नतपर्वन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• चिक्षिपुः: they hurled/cast
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्षिप् (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd person, Plural

• समरे: in battle
• समरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• वीराः: heroes/warriors
• वीराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• मयि: on/against me
• मयि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्मद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Feminine/Neuter (pronoun), Locative, Singular

• शाल्वपदानुगाः: followers of Śālva's path/command (Śālva's adherents)
• शाल्वपदानुगाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शाल्वपदानुग (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

वासुदेव उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)
• Śālva
• arrows (śara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral tension of warfare: devotion or loyalty to a commander (here, Śālva) can fuel extreme aggression, while the dharmic stance requires steadiness under attack and action guided by right purpose rather than rage.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vāsudeva narrates that Śālva’s followers, fighting in the battlefield, shower him with an immense volley—hundreds of thousands—of arrows described as having bent joints, emphasizing the intensity and scale of the assault.