Shloka 38

Devanagari script

अथ पूर्णायतोत्सृष्टे: शरैराशीविषोपमै:

Transliteration

atha pūrṇāyatotsṛṣṭeḥ śarair āśīviṣopamaiḥ

Translation

サンジャヤは言った。やがて、弓を限りなく引き絞って放たれた矢――その殺傷の力は毒蛇にも似て――戦の暴威は一気に高まった。

Word by Word

• अथ: then, now
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• पूर्णायते: fills, becomes full
• Type: Verb
• Root: पूर्णाय (धातु: पूर्णाय्)
• Form: Lat (present indicative), 3rd, singular, Parasmaipada

• उत्सृष्टेः: of the discharge/letting loose
• Type: Noun
• Root: उत्सृष्टि
• Form: feminine, genitive, singular

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: masculine, instrumental, plural

• आशीविषोपमैः: like venomous serpents
• Type: Adjective
• Root: आशीविषोपम
• Form: masculine, instrumental, plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• arrows (śara)
• venomous serpents (āśīviṣa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the ethical gravity of warfare by portraying arrows as venomous serpents—highlighting how skill and power, when used in battle, become instruments of lethal consequence and demand moral reflection on intent and restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes an intensification of combat: warriors release arrows from fully drawn bows, and the missiles are depicted as serpent-like in their deadly potency, conveying the ferocity and peril of the moment.