Shloka 326

Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)

Devanagari script

अवाकिरन्‌ शरैस्तीक्ष्पः शतशो5थ सहस्रश: । शत्रुओंको संताप देनेवाले वे श्रेष्ठ रथी उन महारथी भगदत्तको सब ओरसे घेरकर उनके ऊपर सैकड़ों और हजारों पैने बाणोंकी वर्षा करने लगे

Transliteration

avākiran śarais tīkṣṇaiḥ śataśo ’tha sahasraśaḥ | śatrūṇāṃ santāpa-denāḥ te śreṣṭhā rathinaḥ mahārathiṃ bhagadattaṃ samantād gherayitvā tasya upari śataśaḥ sahasraśaś ca tīkṣṇa-bāṇa-vṛṣṭiṃ prāvartayan |

Translation

サンジャヤは言った。「鋭利な矢を百本、さらに千本と放ちながら、敵を苦しめる第一級の車戦士たちは、大勇士バガダッタを四方から取り囲み、貫く矢の雨を容赦なく浴びせかけた。」

Word by Word

• अवाकिरन्: they showered / they scattered
• अवाकिरन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: अवाकिर् (अव + किर्)
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• तीक्ष्णैः: sharp
• तीक्ष्णैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीक्ष्ण
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• शतशः: by hundreds
• शतशः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शतशस्

• अथ: and then / and
• अथ: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• सहस्रशः: by thousands
• सहस्रशः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहस्रशस्

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Bhagadatta
• arrows (śara/bāṇa)
• chariot-warriors (rathinaḥ/mahārathi)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the harsh discipline of kṣatriya-dharma in war: combatants must act with unwavering resolve in their appointed role, even when the action is destructive. It frames battlefield excellence as steadfastness and tactical coordination rather than personal sentiment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports that elite chariot-warriors encircle the mahārathi Bhagadatta and bombard him from all directions with hundreds and thousands of sharp arrows, creating an overwhelming arrow-storm aimed at breaking his resistance.