Shloka 28

Devanagari script

पूर्व यथा वृषसेनप्रयुक्ति- रभ्याहत: श्वेतहय: शरैस्तै:

Transliteration

pūrvaṃ yathā vṛṣasenaprayukti-r abhyāhataḥ śvetahayaḥ śaraiḥ taiḥ

Translation

സഞ്ജയൻ പറഞ്ഞു—മുമ്പുപോലെ തന്നെ, വൃഷസേനൻ പ്രയോഗിച്ച ആ ശരങ്ങളാൽ ശ്വേതാശ്വങ്ങൾ വീണ്ടും അതേവിധം പ്രഹരിക്കപ്പെട്ടു.

Word by Word

• पूर्वम्: formerly, earlier
• पूर्वम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पूर्व
• Form: Avyaya (adverb)

• यथा: as, just as
• यथा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: यथा
• Form: Avyaya (comparative particle)

• वृषसेनप्रयुक्तिः: the discharge/shot made by Vr̥ṣasena
• वृषसेनप्रयुक्तिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषसेनप्रयुक्ति
• Form: Feminine, nominative, singular

• अभ्याहतः: struck, smitten
• अभ्याहतः: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अभि-आ-हन्
• Form: Masculine, nominative, singular (past passive participle)

• श्वेतहयः: the white horse
• श्वेतहयः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्वेतहय
• Form: Masculine, nominative, singular

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, instrumental, plural

• तैः: with those (arrows)
• तैः: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, instrumental, plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Vṛṣasena
• white horses
• arrows

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the grim inevitability and repetitive momentum of war: once violence is set in motion, the same patterns of destruction recur, reminding the listener of the ethical cost and the inexorable consequences of martial choices.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a battlefield moment where the white horses are again struck down by arrows associated with Vṛṣasena’s engagement—emphasizing that the assault mirrors an earlier episode, intensifying the sense of ongoing, relentless combat.