Shloka 14

अध्याय ९ — कर्णस्य प्रहारः, योधयुग्मनियोजनम्, शैनेय-कैकेययोर्युद्धविन्यासः

Devanagari script

युद्धे हि निहतः शूरो विसृजन्‌ सायकान्‌ बहून्‌

Transliteration

yuddhe hi nihataḥ śūro visṛjan sāyakān bahūn

Translation

Dhṛtarāṣṭra dit : «Pour un héros, être tué au combat alors qu’il décoche encore maintes flèches est véritablement une fin noble — tomber dans l’acte même de lutter, sans renier ni le courage ni le devoir.»

Word by Word

• युद्धे: in battle
• युद्धे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: युद्ध
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• हि: indeed/for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• निहतः: slain
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-हन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, Past passive participle (क्त)

• शूरः: the hero/warrior
• शूरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• विसृजन्: releasing/letting fly
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-सृज्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular, Present active participle (शतृ)

• सायकान्: arrows
• सायकान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सायक
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• बहून्: many
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• battle/war (yuddha)
• arrows (sāyaka)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse upholds the kṣatriya ideal that a warrior’s most honorable death is to fall in battle while actively fighting—maintaining courage, resolve, and duty rather than retreating or yielding.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra reflects on the battlefield outcome, describing a brave warrior who is killed amid combat while still shooting many arrows—emphasizing the intensity of the fight and the warrior’s steadfast valor.