Shloka 26

अभिमन्योरावरणम्

Encirclement and counter-strikes of Abhimanyu

Devanagari script

शरौघेणाप्रमेयेण त्वरमाणो जिघांसया । सभरनुर्बाणकेयूरो बाहू समुकुर्ट शिर:

Transliteration

śaraughenāprameyeṇa tvaramāṇo jighāṃsayā | sabharanur bāṇakeyūro bāhū samukuṭaśiraḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Poussé par le désir de tuer et s’élançant avec hâte, il s’avança au milieu d’une averse de flèches sans mesure—l’arc bandé et prêt, les bras ornés de carquois comme de bracelets, la tête couronnée d’un casque—poursuivant sa marche avec la sombre résolution de la bataille.

Word by Word

शरौघेणby a flood/mass of arrows

अप्रमेयेणimmeasurable, vast

त्वरमाणःhastening

जिघांसयाwith the desire to kill

सhe

भरन्bearing, carrying

धनुःbow

बाणarrows

केयूरःwearing armlets / armleted

बाहूtwo arms

समुकुटwith a crown/helmet

शिरःhead

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

arrows (śara)

bow (dhanus)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the warrior’s single-minded resolve in battle and the momentum of violence once the intent to kill (jighāṃsā) takes hold—an implicit ethical contrast in the epic between martial duty and the destructive consequences of wrath and vengeance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a combatant rushing forward through a vast barrage of arrows, fully armed—bow ready, arms fitted with arrow-gear, and head protected by a helmet—signaling an imminent, lethal engagement.