Shloka 17

भीमसेनस्य बहुमहारथसंयुगः

Bhīmasena’s Engagement with Multiple Mahārathas

Devanagari script

नासज्जन्त तनुत्रेषु भीष्मचापच्युता: शरा: । हतवीरान्‌ रथात्‌ राजन्‌ संयुक्ताञ्जवनैर्हयै:

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca

nāsajjanta tanutreṣu bhīṣma-cāpa-cyutāḥ śarāḥ | hatavīrān rathāt rājan saṃyuktān javanair hayaiḥ ||

Translation

Санджая сказал: О царь, стрелы, выпущенные из лука Бхишмы, не застревали в доспехах воинов; напротив, они поражали с такой силой, что, сразив героев, валили и колесницы, стремительно влекомые быстрыми конями. Эта картина подчёркивает мрачный напор битвы, где доблесть и судьба сходятся, лишая опоры даже самых защищённых.

Word by Word

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• असज्जन्त: they did not stick/adhere
• Type: Verb
• Root: सज्ज्
• Form: लङ् (imperfect), परस्मैपद, 3, plural

• तनुत्रेषु: in the armours
• तनुत्रेषु: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तनुत्र
• Form: neuter, locative, plural

• भीष्मचापच्युताḥ: shot/loosed from Bhīṣma's bow
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भीष्मचापच्युत
• Form: masculine, nominative, plural

• शराः: arrows
• शराः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: masculine, nominative, plural

• हतवीरान्: whose warriors were slain / with slain heroes
• हतवीरान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हतवीर
• Form: masculine, accusative, plural

• रथात्: from the chariot
• रथात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ
• Form: masculine, ablative, singular

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

• संयुक्तान्: yoked/attached
• संयुक्तान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संयुक्त
• Form: masculine, accusative, plural

• जवनैः: by swift (ones)
• जवनैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जवन
• Form: masculine, instrumental, plural

• हयैः: horses
• हयैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: हय
• Form: masculine, instrumental, plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Bhīṣma
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• bow (cāpa)
• arrows (śara)
• armor (tanutra)
• chariot (ratha)
• horses (haya)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even the strongest external protections—armor, chariots, and speed—can fail when confronted by overwhelming force and the turning of fortune in war; the verse highlights the fragility of worldly safeguards amid violent conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīṣma’s arrows, shot from his bow, did not merely embed in armor; they struck decisively, killing key fighters and bringing down chariots drawn by swift horses, emphasizing Bhīṣma’s dominance on the battlefield.