Shloka 7

Devanagari script

तमिषुं संहतं तेन भारद्वाज: प्रतापवान्‌ | दृष्टवामन्यत देहस्य कालपर्यायमागतम्‌,द्रुपदपुत्रके द्वारा उस बाणको धनुषपर रखा गया देख प्रतापी द्रोणने भी यह मान लिया कि “अब इस शरीरका काल आ गया”

Transliteration

tam iṣuṁ saṁhataṁ tena bhāradvājaḥ pratāpavān | dṛṣṭvā manyata dehasya kālaparyāyam āgatam |

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Voyant cette flèche, solidement posée par lui (le fils de Drupada), le vaillant Bhāradvāja (Droṇa) conclut que « le tournant du Temps destiné à son corps était venu »—reconnaissant dans ce geste l’approche de la mort, au sein du cours juste et pourtant terrible de la guerre.

Word by Word

तमिषुम्that arrow

संहतम्fitted/placed (together), set (on the bow)

तेनby him/with that

भारद्वाजःBharadvāja’s son (Droṇa)

प्रतापवान्mighty, valorous

दृष्ट्वाhaving seen

अमन्यतthought, considered

देहस्यof the body

कालपर्यायम्the turn/appointed time of death

आगतम्arrived, come

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Droṇa (Bhāradvāja)

Dṛṣṭadyumna (Drupadaputra)

arrow

bow

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 the Mahābhārata’s recurring insight that in war—even when fought under dharma—time (kāla) governs embodied life. A great warrior like Droṇa recognizes mortality and the inevitability of destiny’s ‘turn’ (paryāya), underscoring humility before kāla and the grave ethical weight of battle.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates that Droṇa sees the son of Drupada (Dṛṣṭadyumna) set an arrow firmly on the bow. Interpreting this as a decisive, death-bringing moment, Droṇa concludes that the time appointed for his body has come—foreshadowing his imminent end in the conflict.