Shloka 16

Sauptika-parva Adhyāya 13 — Bhīmasena’s Pursuit of Drauṇi and the Release of a Divine Astra

Devanagari script

तमभ्यधावत्‌ कौन्तेय: प्रगृह्य सशरं धनु:

Transliteration

tam abhyadhāvat kaunteyaḥ pragṛhya saśaraṃ dhanuḥ

Translation

Lalu putra Kuntī itu menerjang ke arahnya, menggenggam busur dengan anak panah siap dilepaskan.

Word by Word

• तम्: him
• तम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अभ्यधावत्: ran towards / charged at
• अभ्यधावत्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: धाव्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• कौन्तेयः: the son of Kuntī (Kauṇteya)
• कौन्तेयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौन्तेय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• प्रगृह्य: having seized / taking up
• प्रगृह्य: Karana
• Type: Verb
• Root: ग्रह्
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), प्र

• सशरम्: with an arrow / arrow-fitted
• सशरम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: स-शर
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• धनुः: bow
• धनुः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

वैशम्पायन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vaiśampāyana
• Kaunteya (son of Kuntī, i.e., Arjuna)
• bow (dhanuḥ)
• arrows (śara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights decisive kṣatriya response to imminent danger: when adharma erupts in the chaos after battle, a protector must act swiftly—yet the broader Sauptika context also presses the ethical question of how far retaliation should go once war’s boundaries have collapsed.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vaiśampāyana narrates that Kaunteya (understood here as Arjuna) charges toward the opponent, taking up his bow already furnished with arrows, signaling immediate readiness for confrontation in the tense events of the Sauptika episode.