Shloka 15

अध्याय १५९ — रात्रौ श्रमविरामः

Night Exhaustion and Brief Pause in Battle

Devanagari script

सा पाण्डवेन प्रहिता बाह्लीकस्य शिरो5हरत्‌

Transliteration

sā pāṇḍavena prahitā bāhlīkasya śiro ’harat

Translation

ಸಂಜಯನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಪಾಂಡವನು ಪ್ರಯೋಗಿಸಿದ ಆ ಅಸ್ತ್ರವು ಬಾಹ್ಲೀಕನ ಶಿರಸ್ಸನ್ನು ಕತ್ತರಿಸಿತು.

Word by Word

• सा: she
• सा: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• पाण्डवेन: by the Pandava
• पाण्डवेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• प्रहिता: sent/impelled (by)
• प्रहिता: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्र-हि (धातु: हि/हिण् ‘to send/impel’) + क्त
• Form: Feminine, Nominative, Singular

• बाह्लीकस्य: of Bahlika
• बाह्लीकस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाह्लीक
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• शिरः: head
• शिरः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अहरत्: carried off / took away
• Type: Verb
• Root: हृ (हरति)
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), Third, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Pāṇḍava (warrior)
• Bāhlīka
• missile/weapon (implicit: sā)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the grim ethical tension of kṣatriya-dharma in total war: once conflict is embraced and escalates, even respected elders become vulnerable, and victory is purchased through irreversible loss—highlighting the destructive momentum of adharma-fueled hostility.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a weapon hurled by a Pāṇḍava warrior strikes Bāhlīka and severs his head, marking Bāhlīka’s fall in the Drona Parva battle sequence.