Shloka 326

Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)

Devanagari script

अवाकिरन्‌ शरैस्तीक्ष्पः शतशो5थ सहस्रश: । शत्रुओंको संताप देनेवाले वे श्रेष्ठ रथी उन महारथी भगदत्तको सब ओरसे घेरकर उनके ऊपर सैकड़ों और हजारों पैने बाणोंकी वर्षा करने लगे

Transliteration

avākiran śarais tīkṣṇaiḥ śataśo ’tha sahasraśaḥ | śatrūṇāṃ santāpa-denāḥ te śreṣṭhā rathinaḥ mahārathiṃ bhagadattaṃ samantād gherayitvā tasya upari śataśaḥ sahasraśaś ca tīkṣṇa-bāṇa-vṛṣṭiṃ prāvartayan |

Translation

Sanjaya said: With hundreds and then thousands of razor-sharp arrows, those foremost chariot-warriors—tormentors of their foes—surrounded the great warrior Bhagadatta on all sides and unleashed upon him a relentless rain of piercing shafts. The scene underscores the grim ethic of battlefield duty: prowess is measured not by mercy but by steadfast execution of one’s martial role amid overwhelming force.

Word by Word

• अवाकिरन्: they showered / they scattered
• अवाकिरन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अवाकिर् (अव + किर्)
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• तीक्ष्णैः: sharp
• तीक्ष्णैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीक्ष्ण
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• शतशः: by hundreds
• शतशः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शतशस्

• अथ: and then / and
• अथ: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• सहस्रशः: by thousands
• सहस्रशः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहस्रशस्

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Bhagadatta
• arrows (śara/bāṇa)
• chariot-warriors (rathinaḥ/mahārathi)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the harsh discipline of kṣatriya-dharma in war: combatants must act with unwavering resolve in their appointed role, even when the action is destructive. It frames battlefield excellence as steadfastness and tactical coordination rather than personal sentiment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports that elite chariot-warriors encircle the mahārathi Bhagadatta and bombard him from all directions with hundreds and thousands of sharp arrows, creating an overwhelming arrow-storm aimed at breaking his resistance.