Shloka 343

Devanagari script

फाल्गुनिं समरे क्रुद्धो विव्याध बहुभि: शरै: । तब राजकुमार बृहद्वलने दूसरा धनुष लेकर समरभूमिमें कुपित हो अर्जुनकुमार अभिमन्युको बहुतेरे बाणोंद्वारा बींध डाला

Transliteration

phālguniṁ samare kruddho vivyādha bahubhiḥ śaraiḥ |

Translation

Sanjaya berkata: Murka di tengah medan, putera raja Bṛhadvala mengambil busur yang kedua lalu menikam putera Phalguna (Abhimanyu) dengan banyak anak panah. Adegan ini menampakkan peningkatan perang yang tidak mengenal reda, apabila amarah dan kewajipan kesatria mendorong serangan yang tegas, walaupun terhadap lawan yang muda namun menggerunkan.

Word by Word

फाल्गुनिम्Phalgunī (name of a woman/epithet; object)

समरेin battle

क्रुद्धःangry

विव्याधpierced

बहुभिःwith many

शरैःarrows

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Phalguni (Arjuna)

Abhimanyu

arrows (śara)

battlefield (samara)

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 highlights how anger (krodha) intensifies violence in war, while also reflecting the harsh demands of kṣatriya-duty: once battle is joined, opponents act with decisive force. Ethically, it invites reflection on the cost of wrath and the tragic momentum of conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that, during the fight, Abhimanyu (identified as the son of Phalguna/Arjuna) is struck and wounded by many arrows by an enraged warrior, marking a fierce exchange amid the larger Kurukṣetra battle.