Shloka 36

कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke

Devanagari script

शरजालेन महता विद्ध्वा माधवपाण्डवौ । ननाद मुदितो द्रौणिर्महामेघौधनि:स्वनम्‌

Transliteration

śarajālena mahatā viddhvā mādhava-pāṇḍavau | nanāda mudito drauṇir mahāmeghaudhaniḥsvanam ||

Translation

Disse Sañjaya: Tendo traspassado Mādhava e o Pāṇḍava com uma vasta rede de flechas, o filho de Droṇa, exultante, bradou em alta voz com um som como o trovão de uma grande massa de nuvens de chuva.

Word by Word

शरजालेनwith a net/mass of arrows

महताgreat, huge

विद्ध्वाhaving pierced/struck

माधवMādhava (Krishna)

पाण्डवौthe two Pāṇḍavas (the two sons of Pāṇḍu)

ननादroared, sounded

मुदितःdelighted, joyful

द्रौणिःDrauṇi (Aśvatthāman, son of Droṇa)

महामेघौघनिःस्वनम्a sound like the roar of a mass of great clouds

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Mādhava (Kṛṣṇa)

Pāṇḍava (Arjuna / the Pāṇḍava warrior on Kṛṣṇa’s chariot)

Drauṇi (Aśvatthāmā)

net of arrows (śarajāla)

great rain-clouds (mahāmegha)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral tension of war: tactical success can produce exhilaration and boastful display, yet such exultation is ethically ambiguous. It invites reflection on self-mastery—how a warrior’s emotions (pride, triumph) can eclipse discernment about dharma and the human cost of violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Aśvatthāmā (Drauṇi), after striking Kṛṣṇa (Mādhava) and the Pāṇḍava warrior on the chariot with a dense barrage of arrows, becomes delighted and lets out a thunderous roar, likened to the rumbling of great rain-clouds.