Shloka 47

कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke

Devanagari script

धनंजययुगान्ताक: संशप्तकमहार्णवम्‌ | व्यशोषयत दुःशोषं॑ ती3क्ष्पै: शरगभस्तिभि:

Transliteration

dhanañjaya-yugāntākaḥ saṁśaptaka-mahārṇavam | vyaśoṣayat duḥśoṣaṁ tīkṣṇaiḥ śara-gabhastibhiḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Dhanañjaya—tel le soleil à la fin d’un âge—assécha l’immense océan des Saṁśaptakas, océan difficile à tarir, au moyen de ses flèches acérées, flamboyantes comme de farouches rayons.

Word by Word

• धनंजय-युगान्तकः: Arjuna, the destroyer at the end of the age
• धनंजय-युगान्तकः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनंजययुगान्तक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• संशप्तक-महा-अर्णवम्: the great ocean (i.e., mass) of the Saṁśaptakas
• संशप्तक-महा-अर्णवम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशप्तकमहार्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• व्यशोषयत्: caused to dry up; dried up
• Type: Verb
• Root: शुष् (धातु)
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada, Causative (णिच्)

• दुःशोषम्: hard to be dried up
• दुःशोषम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःशोष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• तीक्ष्णैः: with sharp (ones)
• तीक्ष्णैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीक्ष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• शर-गभस्तिभिः: with ray-like clusters of arrows
• शर-गभस्तिभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरगभस्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhanañjaya (Arjuna)
• Saṁśaptakas
• arrows (śara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights steadfast resolve and disciplined power in a righteous struggle: when purpose is firm and action is precise, even a formidable, seemingly inexhaustible opposition can be decisively overcome.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Arjuna’s onslaught against the Saṁśaptaka contingent. Using a grand simile, he says Arjuna—like the end-of-age sun—‘dries up’ their vast host with volleys of sharp arrows, rapidly thinning and breaking their ranks.