Shloka 28

शल्यस्य पाण्डवसेनापीडनम् — Śalya’s Assault on the Pāṇḍava Host

with Omens and Bhīma’s Counter

Devanagari script

ततः संधाय नाराचं रुक्मपुड्खं शिलाशितम्‌

Transliteration

tataḥ saṃdhāya nārācaṃ rukmapuḍkhaṃ śilāśitam

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Alors il ajusta et visa une flèche nārāca—empennée d’or et aiguisée à la pierre—puis, bandant l’arc, se prépara à frapper.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात्)
• Form: true

• संधाय: having fixed/aimed (having set on the bow)
• संधाय: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-धा (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपद-प्रयोगार्थ (gerund, voice-neutral in usage)

• नाराचम्: an iron arrow
• नाराचम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाराच (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• रुक्मपुड्खम्: having a golden feather/shaft-end
• रुक्मपुड्खम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रुक्मपुड्ख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• शिलाशितम्: stone-whetted, sharpened on a stone
• शिलाशितम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिलाशित (प्रातिपदिक; क्त-प्रत्ययान्त from शिला-शा/शि? in sense 'whetted on stone')
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• नाराच (nārāca arrow)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights disciplined intentionality: in the battlefield context, action is preceded by careful preparation and focus. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring emphasis that power and violence become most consequential when guided by trained control and deliberate resolve.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates a combat moment: a warrior fits and aims a formidable nārāca arrow, described as gold-feathered and stone-sharpened, signaling an imminent, serious strike in the ongoing battle.