Shloka 6

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 37: Sañjaya’s Account of Abhimanyu’s Precision Disruption of a Chariot Contingent

Devanagari script

पौरवो वृषसेनश्न विसृजन्त: शिताञ्छरान्‌ | सौभद्रंं शरवर्षण महता समवाकिरन्‌,द्रोण, अश्वत्थामा, कृपाचार्य, कर्ण, कृतवर्मा, सुबलपुत्र शकुनि, बृहद्वल, मद्रराज शल्य, भूरि, भूरिश्रवा, शल, पौरव तथा वृषसेन--ये अभिमन्युपर तीखे बाणोंकी वर्षा करने लगे। इन्होंने महान्‌ बाण-वर्षद्वारा अभिमन्युको आच्छादित कर दिया

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | pauravo vṛṣasenaś ca visṛjantaḥ śitān śarān | saubhadraṁ śaravarṣeṇa mahatā samavākiran ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Paurava and Vṛṣasena, releasing sharp arrows, showered Saubhadra (Abhimanyu) with a great rain of shafts, completely covering him. The scene underscores the grim ethics of war: a lone, valiant youth is overwhelmed by concentrated force, raising questions about fairness and the limits of kṣatriya conduct amid battlefield desperation.

Word by Word

• {'sañjaya uvāca': 'Sañjaya said', 'pauravaḥ': 'Paurava (a Kaurava warrior

• here a named combatant)', 'vṛṣasenaḥ': 'Vṛṣasena (son of Karṇa)', 'ca': 'and', 'visṛjantaḥ': 'releasing, discharging', 'śitān': 'sharp, whetted', 'śarān': 'arrows', 'saubhadram': 'Saubhadra, Abhimanyu (son of Subhadrā)', 'śaravarṣeṇa': 'with a rain of arrows', 'mahatā': 'great, mighty', 'samavākiran': 'they covered completely, inundated'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Paurava
• Vṛṣasena
• Saubhadra (Abhimanyu)
• arrows (śara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral tension in warfare: valor and righteousness can be tested when many concentrate violence upon one. It invites reflection on kṣatriya ethics—whether victory pursued through overwhelming a lone opponent aligns with dharma, even amid the chaos of battle.

What is happening in the narrative?

During the Abhimanyu episode in Droṇa Parva, Paurava and Vṛṣasena discharge sharp arrows in a heavy volley, so that Abhimanyu (Saubhadra) is visually and tactically ‘covered’ by the arrow-rain, signaling intensifying pressure on him.