Shloka 266

Adhyāya 14: Śalya’s Missile-Pressure and the Pāṇḍava Convergence (शल्यस्य शरवर्षम्)

Devanagari script

वासुदेवं च दशभिद्रौणिरविव्याध भारत । भरतनन्दन! तब अअश्वत्थामाने अत्यन्त तेज किये हुए सुवर्णमय पंखवाले बारह बाणोंसे अर्जुनको और दस सायकोंसे श्रीकृष्णको भी घायल कर दिया

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | vāsudevaṃ ca daśabhir drauṇir avivyādha bhārata | bharatanandana! tadā aśvatthāmā atyanta-tejaḥ-kṛtān suvarṇa-maya-pakṣavān dvādaśa-bāṇaiḥ arjunaṃ daśa-sāyakaiś ca śrīkṛṣṇaṃ api vyathayām āsa |

Translation

ಸಂಜಯನು ಹೇಳಿದನು—ಓ ಭಾರತ! ದ್ರೋಣಪುತ್ರ ಅಶ್ವತ್ಥಾಮನು ವಾಸುದೇವ (ಶ್ರೀಕೃಷ್ಣ)ನನ್ನು ಹತ್ತು ಬಾಣಗಳಿಂದ ಭೇದಿಸಿದನು. ನಂತರ, ಓ ಭರತನಂದನ! ಅವನು ತನ್ನ ಅಸ್ತ್ರಗಳನ್ನು ಅತ್ಯಂತ ತೇಜಸ್ವಿಯಾಗಿ ಮಾಡಿ, ಸ್ವರ್ಣಪಕ್ಷಗಳಿಂದ ಯುಕ್ತವಾದ ಹನ್ನೆರಡು ಬಾಣಗಳಿಂದ ಅರ್ಜುನನನ್ನು ಗಾಯಗೊಳಿಸಿ, ಹತ್ತು ಶರಗಳಿಂದ ಶ್ರೀಕೃಷ್ಣನನ್ನೂ ಆಘಾತಿಸಿದನು.

Word by Word

• वासुदेवम्: Vasudeva (Krishna)
• वासुदेवम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वासुदेव
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

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

• दशभिः: with ten
• दशभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दश
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• द्रौणिः: Drauni (Ashvatthaman)
• द्रौणिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रौणि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अविव्याध: pierced, wounded
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्यध्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• भारत: O Bharata
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Aśvatthāmā (Drauṇi)
• Arjuna
• Śrī Kṛṣṇa (Vāsudeva)
• golden-winged arrows (suvarṇa-maya-pakṣavān bāṇāḥ)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the harsh moral atmosphere of war: martial skill and wrath can lead even revered figures to be treated as ordinary targets. It invites reflection on kṣatriya-dharma—courage and combat duty—while also hinting at the ethical tension between prowess and restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports that Aśvatthāmā, fighting fiercely, shoots powerful, golden-fletched arrows—wounding Arjuna with twelve arrows and also striking Kṛṣṇa (as Arjuna’s charioteer) with ten arrows.