Shloka 45

Devanagari script

तस्य द्रोणसुतश्चापं द्विधा चिच्छेद भारत । अथैनं छिन्नधन्वानं ताडयामास सायकै:,भारत! उस द्रोणपुत्रने सात्यकिके धनुषके दो टुकड़े कर दिये और धनुष कट जानेपर उन्हें सायकोंसे घायल करना आरम्भ किया

Transliteration

tasya droṇasutaś cāpaṃ dvidhā ciccheda bhārata | athainaṃ chinnadhanvānaṃ tāḍayāmāsa sāyakaiḥ ||

Translation

भारत! द्रोणपुत्राने सात्यकीचे धनुष्य दोन तुकडे केले. मग त्याला निःशस्त्र पाहून तो बाणांनी त्याच्यावर प्रहार करू लागला.

Word by Word

तस्यof him/his

द्रोणसुतःDrona's son (Ashvatthaman)

चand

आपम्bow

द्विधाin two, into two parts

चिच्छेदcut, severed

भारतO Bharata

अथthen

एनम्him

छिन्नधन्वानम्one whose bow is cut/broken (disarmed)

ताडयामासstruck, beat, attacked

सायकैःwith arrows

भारतO Bharata

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (addressed as Bhārata)

Droṇa

Aśvatthāmā (Droṇasuta)

Sātyaki (implied by context: the disarmed warrior)

bow (cāpa)

arrows (sāyaka)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how swiftly fortune turns in war and how a warrior’s dharma is tested when suddenly disadvantaged; it invites reflection on whether pressing an opponent’s vulnerability is merely tactical necessity or a moral strain within kṣatriya conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Aśvatthāmā, son of Droṇa, slices the opponent’s bow into two; once the foe is disarmed, he immediately continues the assault by striking him with arrows.