Shloka 28

Devanagari script

ते बद्धा: पादबन्धेन न शेकुश्रेष्टितुं नृप । ततस्तानवधीत्‌ पार्थ: शरै: संनतपर्वभि:,नरेश्वर! उस समय पैर बँधे होनेके कारण वे हिल भी न सके। तब अर्जुन झुकी हुई गाँठवाले बाणोंद्वारा उनका वध करने लगे

Transliteration

te baddhāḥ pādabandhena na śekuḥ ceṣṭituṁ nṛpa | tatas tān avadhīt pārthaḥ śaraiḥ saṁnataparvabhiḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : «Ô roi, les pieds solidement entravés, ils ne pouvaient même pas bouger. Alors Pārtha (Arjuna) se mit à les abattre avec des flèches dont les jointures étaient courbées vers le bas.»

Word by Word

तेthey (those)

बद्धाःbound

पादबन्धेनby a binding of the feet / by foot-bonds

नnot

शेकुःwere able

रेष्टितुम्to move/stir

नृपO king

ततःthen/thereupon

तान्them

अवधीत्killed/slew

पार्थःPārtha (Arjuna)

शरैःwith arrows

संनतपर्वभिःhaving bent joints/knots (i.e., barbed/curved-jointed)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by nṛpa)

Arjuna (Pārtha)

arrows (śara)

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 how quickly a battle can turn from a fair contest into a one-sided killing once opponents are incapacitated. It implicitly invites reflection on kṣatriya-dharma: victory may demand harsh tactics, yet the moral weight of striking the helpless remains a tension within the epic’s portrayal of war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the king that certain warriors had their feet bound and could not move. Taking advantage of their immobilized state, Arjuna (Pārtha) proceeds to kill them using arrows described as having bent joints (saṁnata-parvan).