Shloka 3936

जयद्रथवधः — The Slaying of Jayadratha

Sunset Vow and Curse-Condition

Devanagari script

बहवो लघुहस्ताश्न॒ शरवर्षरवाकिरन्‌ । युद्धमें कभी पीछे न हटनेवाले सात्यकिको अपनी सेनाओंके बीच पाकर शीघ्रतापूर्वक हाथ चलानेवाले बहुतेरे यवनोंने उनके ऊपर बाणोंकी वर्षा आरम्भ कर दी

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | bahavo laghu-hastāś ca śara-varṣa-ravākiran | yuddhe kadācid api paścān na haṭanevāle sātyakiṃ sva-senānāṃ madhye prāpya śīghratayā bahavaḥ yavanāḥ tasya upari bāṇānāṃ varṣam ārabdhavantaḥ |

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: Banyak prajurit yang cekatan memenuhi medan dengan gemuruh hujan anak panah. Melihat Sātyaki—termashyur tak pernah mundur dalam pertempuran—berdiri di tengah pasukannya sendiri, banyak petarung Yavana segera menghujaninya dengan panah-panah.

Word by Word

• बहवः: many
• बहवः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बहु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• लघुहस्ताः: having swift hands (quick-handed)
• लघुहस्ताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: लघुहस्त
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• शरवर्षरवाकिरन्: they showered/scattered (with the roar of a rain of arrows)
• शरवर्षरवाकिरन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: शरवर्षरवाकिरत्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), Third, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Sātyaki
• Yavanas
• armies (senā)
• arrows (śara/bāṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights kṣatriya-dharma as steadfastness under danger: true courage is shown when one is singled out and pressured, yet remains unshaken and does not retreat.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a moment in the Drona Parva where many swift-handed Yavana fighters, seeing Sātyaki amid his troops, begin a concentrated volley—an intense rain of arrows directed at him.