Shloka 12

Devanagari script

शरास्तु कर्णार्जुनबाहुमुक्ता विदार्य नागाश्चमनुष्यदेहान्‌ । प्राणान्‌ निरस्याशु महीं प्रतीयु- महोरगा वासमिवातिताम्रा:

Transliteration

śarās tu karṇārjuna-bāhu-muktā vidārya nāgāṁś ca manuṣya-dehān | prāṇān nirasyāśu mahīṁ pratīyur mahā-uragā vāsaṁ ivātitāmrāḥ ||

Translation

シャリヤは言った。「カルナとアルジュナの腕から放たれた矢は、象の身も人の身も等しく裂き貫き、たちまち命の息を追い出して地に落ちた。銅赤の矢柄は、まるで大蛇が住処へ滑り戻るかのようであった。」

Word by Word

• शराः: arrows
• शराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• कर्णार्जुनबाहुमुक्ताः: released from the arms of Karna and Arjuna
• कर्णार्जुनबाहुमुक्ताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: कर्णार्जुनबाहुमुक्त
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• विदार्य: having torn/pierced
• Type: Verb
• Root: विदॄ
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), Parasmaipada

• नागान्: elephants
• नागान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाग
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• मनुष्यदेहान्: human bodies
• मनुष्यदेहान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मनुष्यदेह
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• प्राणान्: life-breaths/lives
• प्राणान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्राण
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• निरस्य: having expelled/removed
• Type: Verb
• Root: निरस्
• Form: Absolutive (Gerund), Parasmaipada

• आशु: quickly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: आशु

• महीम्: the earth/ground
• महीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: मही
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• प्रतीयुः: went/entered
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + इ
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Plural, Parasmaipada

• महा-उरगाः: great serpents
• महा-उरगाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: महो-उरग
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• वासम्: dwelling/abode
• वासम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वास
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• इव: like/as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• अतिताम्राः: exceedingly copper-red (very reddish)
• अतिताम्राः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अतिताम्र
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

शल्य उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Śalya
• Karna
• Arjuna
• arrows
• elephants
• humans
• earth
• serpents

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the moral gravity of war: extraordinary skill and valor, when exercised in battle, become a swift and indiscriminate instrument of death. It invites reflection on the ethical cost of martial excellence and the fragility of life.

What is happening in the narrative?

Śalya describes the intensity of the duel: arrows shot by Karṇa and Arjuna pierce elephants and men, expel their life-breath, and then drop to the ground, compared to great serpents returning to their abode—an image emphasizing both speed and deadly inevitability.