Shloka 70

अध्याय ५८ — वानरध्वजस्य महेन्द्रास्त्रप्रयोगः

Chapter 58: Arjuna’s Deployment of the Indra-Weapon

Devanagari script

कीर्यमाणे तदा द्रोणे शरैगाण्डीवधन्वना । हाहाकारो महानासीत्‌ सैन्यानां भरतर्षभ

Transliteration

kīryamāṇe tadā droṇe śaraiḥ gāṇḍīvadhanvanā | hāhākāro mahān āsīt sainyānāṃ bharatarṣabha ||

Translation

Vaiśampāyana dit : Tandis que Droṇa était criblé d’une pluie de flèches par le manieur du Gāṇḍīva, un grand cri s’éleva parmi les troupes, ô taureau parmi les Bharata.

Word by Word

• कीर्यमाणे: while being scattered/poured (upon)
• कीर्यमाणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: कॄ (किरति)
• Form: वर्तमानकाले कर्मणि (शानच्), नपुंसकलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• तदा: then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तदा

• द्रोणे: on/at Droṇa (Dronacharya)
• द्रोणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रोण
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, बहुवचन

• गाण्डीवधन्वना: by the wielder of the Gāṇḍīva (Arjuna)
• गाण्डीवधन्वना: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गाण्डीवधन्वन्
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• हाहाकारः: a great outcry
• हाहाकारः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: हाहाकार
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• महान्: great
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• आसीत्: was
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस्
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथम, एकवचन

• सैन्यानाम्: of the armies/soldiers
• Type: Noun
• Root: सैन्य
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• भरतर्षभ: O bull among the Bharatas (best of Bharatas)
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरतर्षभ
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सम्बोधन, एकवचन

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Droṇa (Droṇācārya)
• Arjuna (Gāṇḍīvadhanvan)
• Gāṇḍīva
• Kaurava soldiers (sainyāni)
• Janamejaya (implied by bharatarṣabha address)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how swiftly the balance of power and morale shifts in war: disciplined skill can overwhelm even a famed warrior, and collective fear spreads when leadership appears threatened—an ethical reminder of war’s destabilizing force on minds and armies.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna, identified as the wielder of the Gāṇḍīva, rains arrows upon Droṇa; seeing Droṇa pressed hard, the Kaurava troops erupt in a loud cry of alarm and confusion.