Shloka 31

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 155 — Ghaṭotkaca-nidhana-śoka and Karṇa-śakti-vyaya

Kṛṣṇa’s strategic reassurance

Devanagari script

इन्द्रसेनं त्रिभिश्वैव ललाटे जध्निवान्‌ नृप

Transliteration

indrasenaṃ tribhiś caiva lalāṭe jadhnivān nṛpa

Translation

ສັນຊະຍະ ກ່າວວ່າ: ໂອ ພະຣາຊາ, ລາວໄດ້ຍິງ ອິນທຣະເສນະ ດ້ວຍລູກສອນສາມດອກ ທະລຸກາງໜ້າຜາກ—ພາບຂອງຄວາມແມ່ນຍຳອັນໂຫດຮ້າຍໃນສະໜາມຮົບ ທີ່ວັດຄວາມກ້າຫານດ້ວຍຝີມືສັງຫານ ບໍ່ແມ່ນດ້ວຍຄວາມເມດຕາ.

Word by Word

• इन्द्रसेनम्: Indrasena (name), as the object
• इन्द्रसेनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: इन्द्रसेन
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• त्रिभिः: with three (arrows/weapons)
• त्रिभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• ललाटे: on the forehead
• ललाटे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ललाट
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• जघ्निवान्: struck/killed (he did)
• जघ्निवान्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: Perfect (Periphrastic perfect; लिट्-अर्थे), Third, Singular, Masculine, Nominative

• नृप: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: नृप
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• नृप / धृतराष्ट्र (the King, Dhṛtarāṣṭra)
• इन्द्रसेन (Indrasena)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the grim ethic of battlefield reality in the Mahābhārata: martial excellence and decisive action dominate the moment, while the larger moral evaluation of violence is left to the broader narrative of dharma and consequence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a warrior (implied by context) kills Indrasena by shooting three arrows that strike his forehead, marking a swift and fatal turn in the combat.