Mahabharata 7.136.20 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 136, Shloka 20

Chapter 136: Pandava Counter-Encirclement and the Vāyavya-Astra Disruption

Devanagari script

तस्मिन्‌ क्षणे महाराज नवभिर्नतपर्वभि:

Transliteration

tasmin kṣaṇe mahārāja navabhir nataparvabhiḥ

Translation

അന്നേ ക്ഷണത്തിൽ, ഹേ മഹാരാജാ, (അവൻ/അവർ) ഒമ്പത് നതപർവ്വ അമ്പുകളാൽ (ആഘാതിതരായി)।

Word by Word

• तस्मिन्: in that
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Singular

• क्षणे: moment
• क्षणे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षण
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

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

• नवभिः: with nine
• नवभिः: Karana
• Type: Numeral/Adjective
• Root: नवन्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• नतपर्वभिः: with (those) having bent joints / bent-knuckled
• नतपर्वभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नतपर्वन्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line underscores the suddenness of karmic consequence in war: in a single instant, decisive blows can arrive. It also highlights Sañjaya’s role as a truthful witness, reminding the king that royal decisions culminate in immediate, tangible suffering on the battlefield.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya addresses Dhṛtarāṣṭra and marks a critical instant in the fighting, describing an attack involving “nine” and the striking of jointed/bent shafts or weapons—signaling a rapid, concentrated assault within the ongoing Drona-parvan battle sequence.