Shloka 29

Devanagari script

ततः किरीटी रणमूर्थ्नि कोपात्‌ कृत्वा त्रिशाखां भ्रुकुटिं ललाटे

Transliteration

tataḥ kirīṭī raṇamūrdhni kopāt kṛtvā triśākhāṃ bhrukuṭiṃ lalāṭe

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then Kirīṭī (Arjuna), standing at the very forefront of the battle, in a surge of wrath, drew his brow into a threefold furrow upon his forehead—an outward sign that his resolve had hardened for the demands of righteous combat.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

किरीटीthe diademed one (Arjuna)

रणमूर्ध्निon the battlefield (lit. on the head/top of battle)

कोपात्from anger, out of wrath

कृत्वाhaving made

त्रिशाखाम्three-branched, three-fold

भ्रुकुटिम्a frown, knitting of the brows

ललाटेon the forehead

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Kirīṭī (Arjuna)

battlefield (raṇa)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how inner emotions manifest outwardly and signal intent: in war, especially under kṣatriya-dharma, controlled wrath and firm resolve can become the psychological prelude to decisive action—yet it also implicitly warns that anger is a powerful force that must be directed toward duty rather than personal hatred.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Arjuna at the battle’s forefront. Provoked into anger, Arjuna knits his brows into a pronounced, threefold furrow on his forehead—an epic visual cue that he is preparing to act with heightened intensity in the ongoing combat.