Shloka 56

Cakravyūha-saṃkalpaḥ, Saṃśaptaka-āhvānaṃ, Saubhadra-vikrīḍitam

Drona Parva, Adhyāya 32

Devanagari script

अर्जुनास्त्र तु राधेय: संवार्य शरवृष्टिभि:

Transliteration

arjunāstraṃ tu rādhēyaḥ saṃvārya śaravṛṣṭibhiḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: Rādheya (Karna), however, checked Arjuna’s weapon and its force by meeting it with a rain of arrows—answering skill with skill in the relentless ethics of the battlefield, where restraint and countermeasure decide survival.

Word by Word

• अर्जुनास्त्रम्: Arjuna’s weapon (missile)
• अर्जुनास्त्रम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अर्जुनास्त्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• राधेयः: Rādheya (Karna)
• राधेयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: राधेय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• संवार्य: having checked/warded off
• Type: Verb
• Root: सं√वृ
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage as gerund)

• शरवृष्टिभिः: with showers of arrows
• शरवृष्टिभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरवृष्टि
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• Rādheya (Karna)
• astra (weapon/missile)
• śara (arrows)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

In war-narrative terms, the verse highlights disciplined response: power is met by appropriate countermeasure rather than panic. Ethically, it reflects the kṣatriya frame where skill, steadiness, and proportional defense are treated as virtues amid unavoidable violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Karṇa (Rādheya) neutralizes Arjuna’s deployed weapon by releasing dense volleys of arrows, effectively blocking or suppressing Arjuna’s attack.