Mahabharata 7.116.73 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 116, Shloka 73

Śaineya’s Breakthrough and Reunion with Arjuna (शैनेयस्य समागमः)

Devanagari script

तामापतन्तीं सहसा युगान्ताग्निसमप्रभाम्‌

Transliteration

tām āpatantīṁ sahasā yugāntāgnisamaprabhām

Translation

Sañjaya disse: “Ela veio precipitando-se de súbito, ardendo com um brilho como o fogo que se ergue no fim de uma era.”

Word by Word

• ताम्: her/that (f.)
• ताम्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• आपतन्तीम्: falling/descending, rushing down
• आपतन्तीम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: आपत् (धातु: पत्/आपत्)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular, शतृ (present active participle)

• सहसा: suddenly, at once
• सहसा: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहसा

• युगान्ताग्नि-सम-प्रभाम्: having a radiance equal to the fire at the end of an age
• युगान्ताग्नि-सम-प्रभाम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: प्रभा
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• yugānta-agni (the end-of-age fire, as a cosmic image)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse uses a cosmic simile—end-of-age fire—to convey that unchecked violence can mirror universal dissolution, reminding the listener that war threatens not only bodies but the very sense of order (dharma) that sustains society.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes a female-referenced figure or force (contextually identified in surrounding verses) rushing in suddenly, her brilliance compared to the catastrophic fire of the world’s end, emphasizing the speed, power, and terror of the moment.