Shloka 29

अर्जुनस्य शीघ्रप्रयाणं भीम-शकुनियुद्धं च

Arjuna’s Rapid Advance and the Bhīma–Śakuni Encounter

Devanagari script

अथीनं छिन्नधन्वानं त्वरमाणो महीपति:

Transliteration

athīnaṃ chinnadhanvānaṃ tvaramāṇo mahīpatiḥ

Translation

サञ्जयは語った。地の主たる王は急ぎ前へ進み、弓を断たれて無力となった戦士に対峙した――戦の熱気の中で優位を押し広げるのだ。そこでは、ほんの一瞬の隙が生死を決する。

Word by Word

• अथ: then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• एनम्: him
• एनम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: masculine, accusative, singular

• छिन्न-धन्वानम्: whose bow was cut/broken
• छिन्न-धन्वानम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: छिन्नधन्वन्
• Form: masculine, accusative, singular

• त्वरमाणः: hastening
• त्वरमाणः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्वर्
• Form: singular, masculine, nominative, शतृ (present active participle)

• महीपतिः: the king (lord of the earth)
• महीपतिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महीपति
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• mahīpati (the king)
• bow (dhanus)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line highlights a recurring Mahābhārata tension: battlefield success often comes from seizing fleeting advantage, yet such moments also raise ethical questions about how one treats a disarmed or helpless opponent within kṣatriya norms.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a king rushes toward an opponent who has become helpless because his bow has been cut, indicating a turning point in the immediate combat exchange.