Shloka 16

Devanagari script

बाणभूते ततस्तस्मिन्‌ संछन्ने च नभस्तले

Transliteration

bāṇabhūte tatastasmīn saṃchannē ca nabhastale

Translation

संजय म्हणाला—मग तो आकाशप्रदेश जणू बाणांनीच बनला आणि नभाचा विस्तार झाकला गेला; त्या घन शरवृष्टीमुळे युद्धाची उग्रता अधिकच वाढली—जणू बाणांनी आकाशालाच पडदा घातला होता।

Word by Word

• बाणभूते: when (it) had become a mass of arrows / turned into arrows
• बाणभूते: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: बाणभूत
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• ततः: then; thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• तस्मिन्: in that; at that (time/place)
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Singular

• संछन्ने: when (it was) covered; concealed
• संछन्ने: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संछन्न
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• नभः-तले: in the surface/expanse of the sky
• नभः-तले: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: नभस्तल
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• sky (nabhas)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how unchecked martial fury can eclipse discernment: when the sky itself seems ‘covered’ by weapons, it signals a moral atmosphere dominated by violence, reminding the listener that actions (karma) create an all-encompassing environment and consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a moment in the Karṇa Parva battle when volleys of arrows are so thick that the sky appears filled with arrows and the heavens seem obscured—an intensification of missile warfare on the battlefield.