Shloka 56

Devanagari script

तत: शरसहस्राणि कर्णमुक्तानि मारिष । व्ययोजयन्त पज्चालानू्‌ प्राणै: प्राणभूतां वर,प्राणधारियोंमें श्रेष्ठ मान्यवर नरेश! तदनन्तर कर्णके छोड़े हुए सहस्रों बाण पांचालोंको प्राणहीन करने लगे

Transliteration

tataḥ śarasahasrāṇi karṇamuktāni māriṣa | vyayojayanta pāñcālān prāṇaiḥ prāṇabhṛtāṃ vara ||

Translation

Dijo Sañjaya: Luego, oh venerable—el mejor entre los vivientes—millares de flechas disparadas por Karṇa comenzaron a arrancar el aliento mismo de los Pāñcālas, derribándolos en la furia del combate.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

शरarrow

सहस्राणिthousands

कर्णKarna

मुक्तानिreleased, shot

मारिषO noble sir

व्ययोजयन्तthey separated/disjoined (i.e., deprived)

पाञ्चालान्the Panchalas

प्राणैःfrom (their) lives / by (their) life-breaths

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Karṇa

Pāñcālas

arrows (śara)

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 underscores the grim reality of dharma-yuddha narration: heroic prowess in war can be described with reverence, yet its immediate outcome is the taking of life. It highlights the tension between kṣatriya valor and the ethical weight of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Karṇa unleashes a massive volley of arrows, which begins to kill the Pāñcāla fighters in large numbers, turning the battle sharply against them.