Shloka 88

Devanagari script

स पार्थबाणैरविनिपातितायुधो ध्वजावमर्दे च कृते महाहवे । कृत: कृपो बाणसहस्रयन्त्रितो यथा55पगेय: प्रथमं किरीटिना,उस महासमरमें अर्जुनके बाणोंद्वारा जब कृपाचार्यके आयुध नीचे गिरा दिये गये और ध्वज खण्डित कर दिया गया, उस समय किरीटधारी अर्जुनने जैसे पहले भीष्मजीको सहस्रों बाणोंसे आवेष्टित कर दिया था, उसी प्रकार कृपाचार्यको हजारों बाणोंसे बाँध-सा लिया

Transliteration

sa pārthabāṇair avinipātitāyudho dhvajāvamarde ca kṛte mahāhave | kṛtaḥ kṛpo bāṇasahasrayantrito yathā śayageyaḥ prathamaṃ kirīṭinā ||

Translation

Dijo Karna: En aquella gran batalla, cuando las armas de Kṛpa fueron abatidas por las flechas de Arjuna y su estandarte quedó hecho añicos, Arjuna, el de la diadema, inmovilizó a Kripacharya con miles de saetas, tal como antes había sujetado a Bhishma con una densa red de flechas.

Word by Word

सःhe (Kripa)

पार्थ-बाणैःby Arjuna's arrows

अविनिपातित-आयुधःwhose weapons had been made to fall down

ध्वज-अवमर्देin/at the crushing of the banner

चand

कृतेwhen done / having been done

महाहवेin the great battle

कृतःmade / rendered

कृपःKripa

बाण-सहस्र-यन्त्रितःbound/hemmed in by a thousand arrows

यथाas / just as

अपगेयःto be sung/celebrated (reading uncertain)

प्रथमम्formerly / at first

किरीटिनाby the diadem-wearer (Arjuna)

Speaker

कर्ण उवाच

Characters & Entities

Karna

Arjuna (Pārtha, Kirīṭin)

Kripacharya (Kṛpa)

Bhishma

Arrows (bāṇa)

Weapons (āyudha)

Banner/standard (dhvaja)

Battlefield (mahāhava)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights disciplined martial dharma: true prowess is shown not merely by killing but by controlled superiority—disarming and immobilizing an opponent, even a revered elder, while maintaining battlefield purpose and restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

Karna describes Arjuna’s feat in the great battle: Arjuna knocks Kripacharya’s weapons down, breaks his banner, and then pins him with a dense shower of arrows—likened to how Arjuna earlier overwhelmed Bhishma with countless arrows.