Shloka 52

Adhyāya 104 — Śikhaṇḍin-puraskāraḥ (Śikhaṇḍin as Vanguard) and Bhīṣma’s Counter-Advance

Devanagari script

सात्यको5पि महाराज शरजालं निहत्य तत्‌ | द्रौणिमभ्यकिरत्‌ तूर्ण शरजालैरनेकथा,नरेश्वर! उस समय सात्यकिने भी उस बाण-समूहको नष्ट करके तुरंत ही अश्वत्थामाके ऊपर अनेक प्रकारके बाणोंका जाल-सा बिछा दिया

Transliteration

sātyako 'pi mahārāja śarajālaṁ nihatya tat | drauṇim abhyakirat tūrṇaṁ śarajālair anekathā, nareśvara ||

Translation

Disse Sañjaya: Ó grande rei, Sātyaki também, tendo derrubado aquela rede de flechas, rapidamente cobriu o filho de Droṇa (Aśvatthāman) com muitas espécies de redes de setas. A troca revela a habilidade e a determinação incansáveis dos guerreiros: cada um responde ao ataque do outro sem pausa, e o conflito se intensifica por uma perícia disciplinada, não por hesitação pessoal.

Word by Word

• सात्यकिः: Sātyaki
• सात्यकिः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: सात्यकि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अपि: also/even
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अपि

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• शरजालम्: a net/mass of arrows
• शरजालम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरजाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• निहत्य: having destroyed/slain
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage)

• तत्: that (arrow-net)
• तत्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• द्रौणिम्: Drauṇi (Aśvatthāman)
• द्रौणिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रौणि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अभ्यकिरत्: showered/covered (with arrows)
• Type: Verb
• Root: किॄ (धातु) (अभि-उपसर्ग)
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• तूर्णम्: swiftly/at once
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तूर्ण (प्रातिपदिक)

• शरजालैः: with nets/masses of arrows
• शरजालैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरजाल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• अनेकथा: in many ways/variously
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अनेकथा

• नरेश्वर: O lord of men (king)
• Type: Noun
• Root: नरेश्वर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Sātyaki
• Drauṇi (Aśvatthāman)
• śarajāla (net of arrows)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights disciplined responsiveness in righteous warfare: a warrior must meet aggression with alert skill and steadiness. Ethically, it reflects kṣatriya-dharma in battle—decisive action, protection of one’s side, and mastery over fear or hesitation amid escalating conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sātyaki neutralizes an incoming dense barrage of arrows and immediately counters by covering Aśvatthāman (Droṇa’s son) with his own rapid, varied arrow-showers, intensifying the duel-like exchange within the larger battlefield.