Shloka 46

Book 9 (Śalya-parva), Adhyāya 13 — Arjuna’s Arrow-storm and the Drauṇi Confrontation

Devanagari script

स तु तान्‌ सर्वतो यत्तान्‌ शरै: संछाद्य मारिष

Transliteration

sa tu tān sarvato yattān śaraiḥ saṃchādya māriṣa

Translation

サンジャヤは言った。だが彼は、尊き御方よ、四方から押し詰められた彼らを、矢の雨で覆い尽くした。

Word by Word

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

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

• तान्: them
• तान्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: masculine, accusative, plural

• सर्वतः: on all sides/from every direction
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वतः

• यत्तान्: restrained/held back; kept in check
• Type: Adjective
• Root: यत् (PPP of √यम्)
• Form: masculine, accusative, plural

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

• संछाद्य: having covered/blanketed
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम्-√छद्
• Form: absolutive (क्त्वा/ल्यप्), parasmaipada (usage)

• मारिष: O venerable one / sir
• Type: Noun (vocative address)
• Root: मारिष
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by the address māriṣa)
• arrows (śara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how, in the heat of war, tactical superiority often manifests as total suppression—“covering” the opponent with arrows. Ethically, it points to the tension between kṣatriya prowess and the erosion of restraint when victory becomes the sole aim.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a warrior (contextually identified in surrounding verses) attacks opponents who are hemmed in on all sides, blanketing them with arrows—an image of concentrated, overwhelming missile warfare.