Shloka 24

Chapter 136: Pandava Counter-Encirclement and the Vāyavya-Astra Disruption

Devanagari script

तस्मिंस्तु विवरे राजन्‌ नाराचान्‌ गार्ध्रवासस:

Transliteration

tasmiṁstu vivare rājan nārācān gārdhravāsasaḥ

Translation

サञ्जयは言った。「大王よ、その裂け目—陣形の隙—において、禿鷲の羽をまとった戦士たちがナーラーチャ（nārāca）の矢を放った。」

Word by Word

तस्मिन्in that

तुbut/indeed

विवरेin the opening/gap

राजन्O king

नाराचान्iron arrows

गार्ध्रवाससःhe whose garment is of vulture-feathers (i.e., Arjuna)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

vivara (gap/opening in the battle formation)

nārāca (arrows)

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 underscores the tactical reality of war: when a breach appears, combatants exploit it immediately. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension—kṣatriya duty and battlefield necessity often drive swift, forceful action, even as the broader epic questions the human cost of such choices.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, at a specific gap in the battle array, fighters described as ‘gārdhravāsasaḥ’ shoot nārāca arrows into that opening, indicating a concentrated attack aimed at breaking or penetrating the opposing formation.