Mahabharata 7.135.216 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 135, Shloka 216

द्रौणि-पार्षतयोर्युद्धम् | The Duel of Aśvatthāmā

Drauṇi) and Dhṛṣṭadyumna (Pārṣata

Devanagari script

चिक्षेप भीमसेनाय जीवितान्तकरीमिव । वह महाशक्ति दूसरी कालशक्तिके समान प्रतीत होती थी। महाबली राधापुत्र कर्णने जीवनका अन्त कर देनेवाली उस शक्तिको लेकर ऊपर उठाया और उसे धनुषपर रखकर भीमसेनपर चला दिया

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

cikṣepa bhīmasenāya jīvitāntakarīm iva |

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Il la lança sur Bhīmasena comme si elle eût été une force vouée à trancher la vie. Le puissant Karṇa, fils de Rādhā, souleva cette grande śakti—semblable à la puissance même de la Mort—la posa sur son arc et la décocha vers Bhīma.

Word by Word

• चिक्षेप: he hurled/threw
• चिक्षेप: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: क्षिप्
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), 3, singular, Parasmaipada

• भीमसेनाय: to Bhimasena
• भीमसेनाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भीमसेन
• Form: masculine, dative, singular

• जीवितान्तकरीम्: death-dealing; ending life
• जीवितान्तकरीम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जीवितान्तकर
• Form: feminine, accusative, singular

• इव: as if/like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhīmasena (Bhīma)
• Karṇa (Rādhāputra)
• Mahāśakti (weapon/śakti missile)
• Kāla (Death/Time, as implied by kālaśakti)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical gravity of war: as combat intensifies, warriors resort to increasingly lethal weapons, and the presence of Kāla (Death/Time) becomes palpable. It invites reflection on how duty to one’s faction can collide with compassion, and how violence, once escalated, tends to exceed human control.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates that Karṇa, the son of Rādhā, lifts a terrifying śakti weapon—likened to the power of Death—and hurls/discharges it toward Bhīmasena, intending a decisive, life-ending strike.