Shloka 2

Adhyāya 107 — बहुयुद्धप्रकरणम्

Multiple Defensive Engagements to Protect Bhīṣma

Devanagari script

सुशर्मापि ततो बाणै: पार्थ विव्याध संयुगे । वासुदेवं च सप्तत्या पार्थ च नवभि: पुन:

Transliteration

suśarmāpi tato bāṇaiḥ pārtha vivyādha saṃyuge | vāsudevaṃ ca saptatyā pārtha ca navabhiḥ punaḥ ||

Translation

അപ്പോൾ സുശർമനും യുദ്ധഭൂമിയിൽ അമ്പുകളാൽ പാർത്ഥനെ (അർജുനനെ) വേദിച്ചു. വാസുദേവനെ (ശ്രീകൃഷ്ണനെ) എഴുപത് ശരങ്ങളാൽ കുത്തി, വീണ്ടും പാർത്ഥനെ ഒമ്പത് ശരങ്ങളാൽ പ്രഹരിച്ചു.

Word by Word

• {'suśarmā': 'Suśarmā, king of the Trigartas (a Kaurava ally)', 'api': 'also, even', 'tataḥ': 'then, thereafter', 'bāṇaiḥ': 'with arrows', 'pārtha': 'O Pārtha

• Arjuna (son of Pṛthā/Kuntī)', 'vivyādha': 'pierced, wounded (with weapons)', 'saṃyuge': 'in battle, in combat', 'vāsudevam': 'Vāsudeva

• Kṛṣṇa', 'ca': 'and', 'saptatyā': 'with seventy (arrows)', 'navabhiḥ': 'with nine (arrows)', 'punaḥ': 'again, once more'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Suśarmā
• Pārtha (Arjuna)
• Vāsudeva (Kṛṣṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the harsh momentum of warfare: injury and retaliation intensify rapidly. Ethically, it frames the battlefield as a test of steadiness and duty (kṣatriya-dharma), while also reminding the listener that even the greatest figures endure danger without abandoning their role.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Suśarmā wounds Arjuna with arrows, then strikes Kṛṣṇa (Vāsudeva) with seventy arrows, and again hits Arjuna with nine more—depicting a concentrated assault on Arjuna’s chariot team (warrior and charioteer).