Shloka 31

Adhyāya 141 — Night duels: Śaineya and Bhūriśravas; Droṇi and Ghaṭotkaca; Bhīma and Duryodhana

Devanagari script

ततः कनकपुड्खानां शराणां नतपर्वणाम्‌

Transliteration

tataḥ kanakapudkhānāṁ śarāṇāṁ nataparvaṇām

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then there followed a volley of arrows—golden-feathered and bent at the joints—signaling the intensification of the battle’s violence and the relentless skill of the warriors engaged.

Word by Word

• ततः: then; thereafter; from that (point)
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (तस्मात्/ततः = तद्-प्रातिपदिकस्य तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्तम्)

• कनकपुड्खानाम्: of (those) having golden feathers (arrow-feathers)
• कनकपुड्खानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कनकपुड्ख (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग/नपुंसकलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• शराणाम्: of arrows
• शराणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• नतपर्वणाम्: of (those) having bent joints/knots (i.e., with curved segments)
• नतपर्वणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नतपर्वन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• arrows (śara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse itself is primarily descriptive rather than didactic: it highlights how war escalates through human skill and intent. Ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension—brilliance in martial prowess can serve duty, yet it also multiplies destruction when the conflict becomes relentless.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya continues his battlefield report to Dhṛtarāṣṭra, describing the discharge of arrows—ornate (gold-fletched) and well-formed (bent at the joints)—as part of an ongoing exchange of missile weapons in the Drona Parva battle sequence.