Shloka 72

Devanagari script

त॑ं नागमिव सिंहेन दृष्टवा राजन्‌ शरार्दितम्‌ | जवेनाभ्यद्रवज्छूरा: पजच पाण्डवतो रथा:

Transliteration

taṁ nāgam iva siṁhena dṛṣṭvā rājan śarārditam | javena abhyadravañ chūrāḥ pañca pāṇḍavato rathāḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O King, seeing him—wounded and harried by arrows, like an elephant confronted by a lion—the five heroic chariot-warriors of the Pāṇḍavas rushed upon him with great speed.”

Word by Word

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

• नागम्: an elephant
• नागम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाग
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• इव: like/as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• सिंहेन: by a lion
• सिंहेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिंह
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral)

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• शर-अर्दितम्: wounded/afflicted by arrows
• शर-अर्दितम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शर-अर्दित
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle), अर्द्

• जवेन: with speed
• जवेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: जव
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• अभ्यद्रवत्: ran towards/charged
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-√द्रु
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• शूराः: heroes/warriors
• शूराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• पञ्च: five
• Type: Numeral
• Root: पञ्च

• पाण्डवानाम्: of the Pāṇḍavas
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• रथाः: chariots (i.e., chariot-warriors)
• रथाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• King Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• the five Pāṇḍava chariot-warriors (pañca pāṇḍavataḥ rathāḥ)
• elephant (nāga) (simile)
• lion (siṁha) (simile)
• arrows (śara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the kṣatriya ideal of decisive action in crisis: when a foe is seen weakened (śarārdita), the warriors do not hesitate but move swiftly. Ethically, it reflects the harsh logic of battlefield dharma—courage, alertness, and seizing the moment—while also reminding the listener of the cost of violence through the image of a body ‘afflicted by arrows.’

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, upon seeing a particular warrior already struck by many arrows, the five Pāṇḍava chariot-fighters surge forward rapidly to engage him, using a vivid comparison: like an elephant faced by a lion.