Shloka 28

भीमसेन–कर्णयुद्धवर्णनम्

Description of the Bhīmasena–Karṇa Engagement

Devanagari script

तत: शराणां षष्ट्या तु द्रौणि: पार्थमवाकिरत्‌

Transliteration

tataḥ śarāṇāṃ ṣaṣṭyā tu drauṇiḥ pārtham avākirat

Translation

ततः शराणां षष्ट्या तु द्रौणिः पार्थमवाकिरत्।

Word by Word

• ततः: then; thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात्)
• Form: अव्यय (तसिल्-प्रत्यय), अर्थे: 'from that/then'

• शराणाम्: of arrows
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• षष्ट्या: with sixty (arrows)
• षष्ट्या: Karana
• Type: Noun (numeral)
• Root: षष्टि
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, तृतीया, एकवचन

• तु: indeed; but
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु
• Form: अव्यय

• द्रौणिः: Drauni (Aśvatthāman)
• द्रौणिः: Karta
• Type: Noun (proper)
• Root: द्रौणि
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• पार्थम्: Pārtha (Arjuna)
• पार्थम्: Karma
• Type: Noun (proper)
• Root: पार्थ
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• अवाकिरत्: showered; covered (with arrows)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अव√कॄ (किरति)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत), परस्मैपद, प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Drauṇi (Aśvatthāmā)
• Pārtha (Arjuna)
• arrows

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the intensity and inevitability of conflict once war is joined: skill and determination manifest as overwhelming force, while the broader epic context invites reflection on the ethical burden of violence even when performed as kṣatriya-duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Aśvatthāmā (Droṇa’s son) launches a concentrated attack, raining sixty arrows upon Arjuna, marking a sharp exchange of missile warfare in the Drona Parva battle sequence.