Shloka 58

अजिशीर्षे प्रातःसंध्यायां संग्रामवर्णनम् / Dawn-Transition Battle at Ajiśīrṣa

Chapter 161

Devanagari script

शरवष्टिं तु तां मुक्तां सूतपुत्रेण भारत

Transliteration

śaravaṣṭiṁ tu tāṁ muktāṁ sūtaputreṇa bhārata

Translation

Wahai Bhārata, hujan anak panah itu dilepaskan oleh putra sais (Karna).

Word by Word

• शरवष्टिम्: a javelin/spear (śara-rod/weapon)
• शरवष्टिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरवष्टि
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• ताम्: that (her/it)
• ताम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• मुक्ताम्: released/shot
• मुक्ताम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: मुक्त
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• सूतपुत्रेण: by the charioteer's son (Karna)
• सूतपुत्रेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सूतपुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• भारत: O Bhārata
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Karṇa (Sūtaputra)
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (Bhārata, addressee)
• śaravaṣṭi (volley of arrows)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even in a vast war where events seem impersonal, the text highlights personal agency: a specific warrior chooses to unleash force, and that choice carries moral and karmic weight.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a particular ‘shower of arrows’ was discharged by the Sūtaputra—i.e., Karṇa—marking an intense moment of battlefield assault.