Shloka 26

Karṇa-parva Adhyāya 58 — Arjuna’s Arrow-Storm and Relief of Bhīmasena

Devanagari script

द्रौणिस्तु दृष्टवा राजेन्द्र धृष्टद्युम्नमवस्थितम्‌ । क्रोधेन नि:श्वसन्‌ वीर: पार्षत॑ समुपाद्रवत्‌,राजेन्द्र! वीर अश्वत्थामाने द्रुपदकुमार धृष्टद्युम्मनको सामने खड़ा देख क्रोधसे लंबी साँस खींचते हुए उनपर आक्रमण किया

Transliteration

drauṇis tu dṛṣṭvā rājendra dhṛṣṭadyumnam avasthitam | krodhena niḥśvasan vīraḥ pārṣatam samupādravat ||

Translation

Sanjaya said: O king, when Drona’s son (Aśvatthāmā) saw Dhṛṣṭadyumna, the son of Drupada, standing ready before him, the warrior—breathing hard in anger—rushed straight at that Pārṣata. The verse highlights how wrath, once kindled on the battlefield, drives a fighter from measured judgment into immediate violent action, tightening the cycle of retaliation that war sustains.

Word by Word

• द्रौणिः: Drona's son (Ashvatthaman)
• द्रौणिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रौणि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

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

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

• राजेन्द्र: O king of kings (O best of kings)
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजेन्द्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• धृष्टद्युम्नम्: Dhrishtadyumna
• धृष्टद्युम्नम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धृष्टद्युम्न (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अवस्थितम्: standing/posted (there)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अवस्था/अवस्थित (प्रातिपदिक from अव-स्था)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• क्रोधेन: with anger / in anger
• क्रोधेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रोध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• नि:श्वसन्: breathing hard/sighing
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि:श्वस् (धातु)
• Form: शतृ (present active participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• वीरः: the hero/warrior
• वीरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पार्षतम्: the son of Prishata (Dhrishtadyumna)
• पार्षतम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्षत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• समुपाद्रवत्: ran up/charged at
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-उप-आ-द्रु (धातु)
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• धृतराष्ट्र (Dhṛtarāṣṭra) [implied by address rājendra]
• द्रौणि / अश्वत्थामा (Drauṇi / Aśvatthāmā)
• धृष्टद्युम्न (Dhṛṣṭadyumna)
• द्रुपद (Drupada) [implied by ‘son of Drupada’ gloss]
• पार्षत (Pārṣata)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse foregrounds how anger (krodha) becomes an immediate motor of action in war: the warrior’s breath and impulse signal a mind overtaken by wrath, suggesting the ethical danger that passion can eclipse discernment and intensify cycles of vengeance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports to the king that Aśvatthāmā, seeing Dhṛṣṭadyumna positioned before him, becomes enraged and charges directly at him, initiating a fresh clash between these principal fighters.