Shloka 31
Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 155 — Ghaṭotkaca-nidhana-śoka and Karṇa-śakti-vyaya
Kṛṣṇa’s strategic reassurance
Devanagari script
इन्द्रसेनं त्रिभिश्वैव ललाटे जध्निवान् नृप
Transliteration
indrasenaṃ tribhiś caiva lalāṭe jadhnivān nṛpa
Translation
サンジャヤは言った。王よ、彼はインドラセーナを三本の矢で射伏せ、その額を貫いた――慈悲ではなく致命の技によって武勇が量られる、戦場の冷酷な精確さを示す光景であった。
Word by Word
इन्द्रसेनम्Indrasena (name), as the object
इन्द्रसेनम्:
Karma
TypeNoun
Rootइन्द्रसेन
FormMasculine, Accusative, Singular
त्रिभिःwith three (arrows/weapons)
त्रिभिः:
Karana
TypeAdjective
Rootत्रि
FormMasculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural
एवindeed/just
एव:
TypeIndeclinable
Rootएव
ललाटेon the forehead
ललाटे:
Adhikarana
TypeNoun
Rootललाट
FormNeuter, Locative, Singular
जघ्निवान्struck/killed (he did)
जघ्निवान्:
Karta
TypeVerb
Rootहन्
FormPerfect (Periphrastic perfect; लिट्-अर्थे), Third, Singular, Masculine, Nominative
नृपO king
नृप:
TypeNoun
Rootनृप
FormMasculine, Vocative, Singular
Speaker
संजय उवाच
Characters & Entities
स
संजय (Sañjaya)न
नृप / धृतराष्ट्र (the King, Dhṛtarāṣṭra)इ
इन्द्रसेन (Indrasena)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
The verse underscores the grim ethic of battlefield reality in the Mahābhārata: martial excellence and decisive action dominate the moment, while the larger moral evaluation of violence is left to the broader narrative of dharma and consequence.
Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a warrior (implied by context) kills Indrasena by shooting three arrows that strike his forehead, marking a swift and fatal turn in the combat.