Shloka 33

Adhyāya 40 (Book 7, Droṇa-parva): Abhimanyu’s Rapid Advance and Battlefield Disruption

Devanagari script

धनुर्मण्डलनिर्मुक्ते: शरैराशीविषोपमै:

Transliteration

dhanurmaṇḍalanirmukteḥ śarair āśīviṣopamaiḥ

Translation

Sañjaya dit : «Du cercle de l’arc furent lâchées des flèches—pareilles à des serpents venimeux—promptes et meurtrières, accroissant l’effroi et le poids moral du champ de bataille.»

Word by Word

• धनुर्मण्डलनिर्मुक्तेः: from the discharge (release) from the bow-circle (i.e., from the bow)
• धनुर्मण्डलनिर्मुक्तेः: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुर्मण्डलनिर्मुक्ति
• Form: Feminine, Ablative, Singular

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

• आशीविषोपमैः: like venomous serpents
• आशीविषोपमैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आशीविषोपम
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• bow
• arrows
• venomous serpents (simile)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses a vivid simile—arrows like venomous serpents—to underscore the fearful potency of martial skill and the grave ethical atmosphere of war, where prowess brings destruction as well as duty-bound action.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a combat scene in which a warrior’s arrows, released in rapid succession from the bow’s sweeping arc, strike with snake-like deadliness, conveying the intensity and danger of the ongoing battle.