Mahabharata 7.141.473 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 141, Shloka 473

Adhyāya 141 — Night duels: Śaineya and Bhūriśravas; Droṇi and Ghaṭotkaca; Bhīma and Duryodhana

Devanagari script

वायुभूतान्यदृश्यन्त संसक्तानीतरेतरम्‌ । माननीय नरेश! उन दोनोंके छोड़े हुए बाणसमूह वहाँ परस्पर सटकर अत्यन्त वेगके कारण वायुस्वरूप दिखायी देते थे

Transliteration

vāyubhūtāny adṛśyanta saṃsaktānītaretaram | mānanīya nareśa! ubhayos tyaktāḥ bāṇasaṃghāḥ tatra parasparaṃ saṭitāḥ atyantavegakāraṇād vāyusvarūpā iva dṛśyante sma |

Translation

Sañjaya disse: “Ó rei venerável, as saraivadas de flechas lançadas pelos dois guerreiros ali chocaram-se e se enredaram tão densamente que, impelidas por sua velocidade extrema, pareciam o próprio vento.”

Word by Word

• वायुभूतानि: having become like wind; wind-formed
• वायुभूतानि: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: वायुभूत (वायु + भूत)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• अदृश्यन्त: were seen/appeared
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), 3rd, Plural, Atmanepada

• संसक्तानि: clinging together; stuck
• संसक्तानि: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संसक्त (सम् + सञ्ज्/सक्त)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Plural

• इतरेतरम्: mutually; to each other
• इतरेतरम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इतरेतर

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• King (Dhṛtarāṣṭra, addressed as nareśa)
• arrows (bāṇa)
• wind (vāyu)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse primarily heightens the battle’s intensity through imagery: when violence accelerates beyond ordinary perception, it becomes indistinguishable—suggesting how war can overwhelm discernment and turn human action into a force of nature.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes two opposing warriors exchanging such rapid, dense volleys of arrows that the arrows seem to merge and appear wind-like due to their speed and mutual contact.