Shloka 19

भीष्मस्य शरशय्या-प्राप्तिः

Bhīṣma’s Fall to the Arrow-Bed

Devanagari script

आर्जुनिं नृपतिर्विद्ध्वा शरै: संनतपर्वभि: । पुनरेव चतु:षष्ट्या राजन्‌ विव्याध तं नृप

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

ārjunim nṛpatir viddhvā śaraiḥ saṃnataparvabhiḥ |

punareva catuḥṣaṣṭyā rājan vivyādha taṃ nṛpa ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Le roi frappa Arjuni (Abhimanyu) de flèches aux jointures recourbées ; puis encore, ô Roi, il perça ce prince de soixante-quatre traits supplémentaires, approfondissant la blessure dans la pression inexorable du combat.

Word by Word

• आर्जुनिम्: Arjuni (Abhimanyu, son of Arjuna)
• आर्जुनिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आर्जुनि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• नृपतिः: the king
• नृपतिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृपति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• विद्ध्वा: having pierced/wounded
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्यध् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• संनतपर्वभिः: with (arrows) having bent/curved knots (at the joints)
• संनतपर्वभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संनतपर्वन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• पुनः: again
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः (अव्यय)

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव (अव्यय)

• चतुःषष्ट्या: with sixty-four (arrows)
• चतुःषष्ट्या: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: चतुःषष्टि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• विव्याध: pierced/wounded
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्यध् (धातु)
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• नृप: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Abhimanyu (Ārjuni)
• Kāmbhoja king (implied by the Gita Press Hindi gloss)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the brutal momentum of war: once violence is unleashed, it escalates through repeated strikes. Ethically, it invites reflection on kṣatriya duty versus excess—how martial prowess can slide into relentless harm when restraint and righteous conduct are not foregrounded.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a king on the battlefield pierces Abhimanyu (called Ārjuni) first with bent-jointed arrows and then again with sixty-four more, intensifying Abhimanyu’s injury amid the ongoing combat.