Mahabharata 7.81.35 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 81, Shloka 35

Yudhiṣṭhira–Droṇa Saṃgrāma

Engagement and Countermeasures

Devanagari script

समुद्रांक्षाद्भुताकारानपश्यद्‌ बहुलाकरान्‌

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | samudrān kṣād adbhutākārān apaśyad bahulākārān | bahu-śo ratna-khānābhiḥ yukto 'pi samudro 'dbhuta-ākāreṇa dṛṣṭi-gocaro 'bhavat | evaṃ pṛthivīm antarikṣaṃ ca ākāśaṃ ca yugapad dṛṣṭvā āścarya-cakito 'rjunaḥ śrīkṛṣṇena saha viṣṇu-pade (parama-ākāśe) yātrāṃ cakāra | sa dhanuṣā kṣipto bāṇa iva agre jagāma ||

Translation

સંજય બોલ્યા: અર્જુને સમુદ્રોને પણ જોયા—અદ્ભુત આકારોમાં, અનેક રૂપોમાં—અસંખ્ય રત્નખાણોથી યુક્ત થઈ તેઓ આશ્ચર્યજનક દર્શન આપતા હતા. આ રીતે પૃથ્વી, અંતરિક્ષ અને આકાશનું એકસાથે દર્શન કરીને તે વિસ્મિત થયો; પછી શ્રીકૃષ્ણ સાથે વિષ್ಣુપદ—પરમ આકાશ— તરફ યાત્રા કરવા લાગ્યો. ધનુષ્યમાંથી છૂટેલા બાણની જેમ તે વેગથી આગળ વધતો હતો.

Word by Word

• समुद्रान्: oceans
• समुद्रान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: समुद्र
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• अक्षात्: from the eye / from sight
• अक्षात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अक्ष
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• अद्भुताकारान्: of wondrous forms
• अद्भुताकारान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अद्भुत-आकार
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• अपश्यत्: saw
• अपश्यत्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• बहुलाकारान्: of many forms / manifold-shaped
• बहुलाकारान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहुल-आकार
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• अर्जुन (Arjuna)
• श्रीकृष्ण (Śrī Kṛṣṇa)
• समुद्र (the oceans)
• पृथ्वी (earth)
• अन्तरिक्ष (mid-region/space)
• आकाश (sky)
• विष्णुपद (Viṣṇu’s supreme realm)
• धनुष् (bow)
• बाण (arrow)
• रत्न (jewels)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage highlights awe before the vast, ordered cosmos and the idea that higher vision and progress toward the supreme realm occur under divine guidance—Arjuna advances with Kṛṣṇa, suggesting that spiritual ascent and clarity are supported by right companionship and grace.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Arjuna witnessing extraordinary, many-formed oceans and simultaneously perceiving earth, the mid-region, and the sky; astonished, Arjuna proceeds with Śrī Kṛṣṇa toward Viṣṇu’s highest abode, moving swiftly like an arrow shot from a bow.