Shloka 56

Devanagari script

अशीत्या क्षत्रवर्माणं षड्विंशत्या सुदक्षिणम्‌ । क्षत्रदेव॑ तु भल्‍लेन रथनीडादपातयत्‌,तत्पश्चात्‌ क्षत्रवर्माको अस्सी और सुदक्षिणको छब्बीस बाणोंसे आहत करके क्षत्रदेवको भल्लसे घायलकर रथकी बैठकसे नीचे गिरा दिया

Transliteration

aśītyā kṣatravarmāṇaṃ ṣaḍviṃśatyā sudakṣiṇam | kṣatradevaṃ tu bhallena rathanīḍād apātayat |

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: Dengan lapan puluh anak panah dia memanah Kṣatravarman, dan dengan dua puluh enam dia memanah Sudakṣiṇa. Kemudian, dengan anak panah bhalla yang tajam, dia mencederakan Kṣatradeva dan menghempasnya jatuh dari tempat duduk keretanya.

Word by Word

अशीत्याwith eighty (arrows)

क्षत्रवर्माणम्Kṣatravarman

षड्विंशत्याwith twenty-six (arrows)

सुदक्षिणम्Sudakṣiṇa

क्षत्रदेवम्Kṣatradeva

तुbut/and then

भल्लेनwith a bhalla-arrow (broad-headed shaft)

रथनीडात्from the chariot-seat (lit. chariot-nest)

अपातयत्caused to fall; knocked down

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Kṣatravarman

Sudakṣiṇa

Kṣatradeva

bhalla (arrow)

ratha (chariot)

rathanīḍa (chariot-seat)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the harsh ethic of the battlefield: measured prowess and decisive action can instantly overturn a warrior’s standing. It implicitly reflects kṣatriya-dharma in war—skill, resolve, and the acceptance that honor and life can change in a moment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a combat episode in which a warrior strikes Kṣatravarman with eighty arrows, Sudakṣiṇa with twenty-six, and then uses a bhalla-arrow to wound Kṣatradeva and knock him down from the chariot-seat.