Shloka 34

Adhyāya 141 — Night duels: Śaineya and Bhūriśravas; Droṇi and Ghaṭotkaca; Bhīma and Duryodhana

Devanagari script

ते तु चापबलोद्धूता: शातकुम्भविभूषिता:

Transliteration

te tu cāpabaloddhūtāḥ śātakumbhavibhūṣitāḥ

Translation

Mais ces flèches, arrachées par la puissance de l’arc, étaient parées d’ornements d’or pur—image qui aiguise le contraste entre la violence guerrière et la splendeur royale, tandis que Sañjaya rapporte la scène avec une sobre netteté.

Word by Word

• ते: they (those)
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तु: but / however
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• चापबलोद्धूताः: shaken/struck by the force of bows
• चापबलोद्धूताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: चाप-बल-उद्धूत
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• शातकुम्भविभूषिताः: adorned with gold ornaments
• शातकुम्भविभूषिताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शातकुम्भ-विभूषित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• bow
• gold ornaments (śātakumbha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line underscores a recurring Mahābhārata tension: worldly magnificence and martial honor coexist with the harsh reality of violence. The ethical undertone is the fragility of embodied life and status amid the force of weapons and fate on the battlefield.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes combatants who are being violently shaken or driven by the power of bowmanship (arrows/impact implied), while still visibly ornamented with pure gold—painting a vivid battlefield tableau of struck warriors in royal attire.