Shloka 14

Devanagari script

तौ कर्णिनाराचशिलीमुखैश्न नालीकदण्डासनवत्सदन्तै: । वराहकर्णै: सविपाठशच्ञैः क्षुयप्रवर्षश्न विनेदतु: खम्‌,वे दोनों कर्णी, नाराच, शिलीमुख, नालीक, दण्ड, असन, वत्सदन्त, वाराहकर्ण, विपाठ, सींग तथा क्षुरप्रोंकी वर्षा करते हुए अपनी गर्जनासे आकाशको गुँजाने लगे

Transliteration

tau karṇinārācaśilīmukhaiś ca nālīkadaṇḍāsanavatsadantaiḥ | varāhakarṇaiḥ savipāṭaśṛṅgaiḥ kṣurapravarṣaiś ca vinedatuḥ kham ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: The two warriors filled the sky with a storm of arrows—karṇin, nārāca, śilīmukha, nālīka, daṇḍa, āsana, vatsadanta, varāhakarṇa, vipāṭa, śṛṅga, and kṣura—so that, with their thunderous roar of bow and battle, the very heavens seemed to resound. The verse underscores the terrifying intensity of combat, where martial prowess and wrath eclipse restraint, reminding the listener how war magnifies human passions and the cost of adharma-driven violence.

Word by Word

तौthose two

कर्णि-नाराच-शिलीमुखैःwith karnin-arrows, narāca-arrows, and śilīmukha-arrows

नालीक-दण्ड-असन-वत्सदन्तैःwith nālīka-, daṇḍa-, asana-, and vatsa-danta (calf-tooth) arrows

वराहकर्णैःwith varāha-karṇa (boar-ear) arrows

स-विपाठ-शृङ्गैःwith vipāṭha and horned (śṛṅga) arrows (i.e., barbed/horn-like)

क्षुर-प्रवर्षम्a shower of razor(-like missiles)

विनेदतुःthey made resound / they roared

खम्the sky

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

the two warriors (unnamed in this verse)

various arrow/missile types (karṇin, nārāca, śilīmukha, nālīka, daṇḍa, āsana, vatsadanta, varāhakarṇa, vipāṭa, śṛṅga, kṣura)

sky (kha)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse is primarily descriptive, but ethically it highlights how war escalates into overwhelming violence; it invites reflection on the human cost when anger and rivalry dominate, even while portraying the kṣatriya ideal of martial prowess.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes two opposing fighters unleashing a dense barrage of many specialized arrow-types, making the sky echo with the roar of battle—an image of an intense duel at a climactic moment in the Drona Parva.