Shloka 32

Adhyāya 40 (Book 7, Droṇa-parva): Abhimanyu’s Rapid Advance and Battlefield Disruption

Devanagari script

ततः शिलाशितैस्ती&णैर्भल्लैरानतपर्वभि:

Transliteration

tataḥ śilāśitaiḥ tīrṇaiḥ bhallair ānataparvabhiḥ

Translation

Lalu, dengan anak panah yang diasah di atas batu—bermata lebar dan beruas menunduk—ia menekan serangan, memperhebat kedahsyatan pertempuran di tengah laju perang yang tak terbendung.

Word by Word

• ततः: then; thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (काल/क्रमवाचक)

• शिलाशितैः: with stone-whetted (i.e., sharpened on stone)
• शिलाशितैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शिलाशित (शिला + आशित)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया बहुवचनम्

• तीक्ष्णैः: sharp
• तीक्ष्णैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीक्ष्ण
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया बहुवचनम्

• भल्लैः: with bhalla-arrows (a kind of arrow)
• भल्लैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भल्ल
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया बहुवचनम्

• आनतपर्वभिः: with (arrows) having bent joints/knots
• आनतपर्वभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आनतपर्वन् (आनत + पर्वन्)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे तृतीया बहुवचनम्

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• bhalla (broad-headed arrows)
• śilā (stone/whetstone)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line underscores the Mahābhārata’s sober realism about war: skill and weaponry escalate conflict, and the narrative implicitly invites ethical reflection on how quickly violence intensifies once battle is joined under kṣatriya-dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a combatant’s renewed assault using specially prepared, stone-sharpened broad-headed arrows, emphasizing the technical ferocity and immediacy of the fighting in Droṇa Parva.