Mahabharata 7.138.29 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 138, Shloka 29

अन्धकार-रजःसंमूढे रणाङ्गणे प्रदीपप्रकाशः | Illumination of the Army in Darkness and Dust

Devanagari script

तौ शोणितोक्षितैगत्रि: शरैश्छिन्नतनुच्छदौ । कर्णभीमौ व्यराजेतां निर्मुक्ताविव पन्नगौं

Transliteration

tau śoṇitokṣitair gātraiḥ śaraiś chinnatanucchadau | karṇabhīmau vyarājetāṃ nirmuktāv iva pannagau ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: Dengan anggota tubuh bermandi darah dan baju zirah terpotong oleh anak panah, Karṇa dan Bhīmasena tampak bersinar seperti dua ular yang baru menanggalkan kulitnya.

Word by Word

• तौ: those two
• तौ: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• शोणित: with blood
• शोणित: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शोणित
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• उक्षित: sprinkled/drenched
• उक्षित: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: उक्ष्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• अङ्गत्रिः: having bodies/limbs (as their threefold/whole frame)
• अङ्गत्रिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: अङ्गत्रि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• शरैः: by arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• छिन्न: cut/torn
• छिन्न: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: छिद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• तनुच्छदौ: whose body-coverings/armours (lit. body-covers) (were cut)
• तनुच्छदौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तनुच्छद
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• कर्णभीमौ: Karna and Bhima
• कर्णभीमौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्ण + भीम
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• विराजेताम्: shone/appeared splendid
• Type: Verb
• Root: राज् (वि-राज्)
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), Third, Dual, Atmanepada

• निर्मुक्तौ: freed, cast off (their covering)
• निर्मुक्तौ: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: निर्मुक्त
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

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

• पन्नगौ: two serpents
• पन्नगौ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पन्नग
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Karṇa
• Bhīmasena
• arrows (śara)
• armour/body-covering (tanu-cchada)
• serpents (pannaga)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the kṣatriya ideal of steadfastness: even when wounded and stripped of armour, a warrior is expected to maintain courage and resolve. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension—glory and horror coexist in war, and endurance becomes a defining virtue within the battlefield code.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Karṇa and Bhīmasena in the midst of fierce combat. Their armour has been cut by arrows and their bodies are soaked in blood, yet they appear all the more formidable—likened to serpents that have shed their skins—continuing to attack each other relentlessly.