Mahabharata 7.136.6 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 136, Shloka 6

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

Devanagari script

सायकानां ततः पार्थस्त्रिषष्ट्या प्रत्यविध्यत । तोत्रैरिव महानागं कशाभिरिव वाजिनम्‌

Transliteration

sāyakānāṃ tataḥ pārthas triṣaṣṭyā pratyavidhyata | totrair iva mahānāgaṃ kaśābhir iva vājinam ||

Translation

त्यानंतर पृथापुत्र भीमाने तिरसठ बाणांनी कर्णाला जखमी केले—जसे महागजाला अंकुशांनी आणि घोड्याला चाबकांनी हाकले जाते तसे.

Word by Word

• सायकानाम्: of arrows
• सायकानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सायक
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• ततः: then/thereupon
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• पार्थः: Pārtha (son of Pṛthā)
• पार्थः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• त्रिषष्ट्या: with sixty-three
• त्रिषष्ट्या: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रिषष्टि
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• प्रत्यविध्यत: pierced/struck
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि + व्यध्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3, Singular, Parasmaipada

• तोत्रैः: with goads
• तोत्रैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तोत्र
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• इव: as/like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• महानागम्: a great elephant
• महानागम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: महानाग
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• कशाभिः: with whips
• कशाभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कशा
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Plural

• इव: as/like
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• वाजिनम्: a horse/steed
• वाजिनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाजिन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Pārtha (son of Pṛthā)
• arrows (sāyaka)
• goad/elephant-hook (totra)
• great elephant (mahānāga)
• whip (kaśā)
• horse (vājin)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses a forceful simile to show how, in war, combatants are driven onward by harsh necessity—pain, duty, and rivalry—much as animals are compelled by goads and whips. It highlights the ethical tension of kṣatriya life: courage and persistence are praised, yet the means are inherently violent and coercive.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya narrates that the son of Pṛthā retaliates by piercing the opponent with sixty-three arrows. The comparison to goading an elephant and whipping a horse emphasizes the intensity and unbroken pressure of the exchange of missiles in the battlefield.