Shloka 143

Devanagari script

न तु शेषं शरास्तात कुर्युरस्ता: किरीटिना । तात संजय! अपने तेजसे जलता हुआ वज्र किसीके मस्तकपर पड़कर सम्भव है, उसके जीवनको बचा दे, परंतु किरीटधारी अर्जुनके चलाये हुए बाण जिसे लग जायाँगे, उसे जीवित नहीं छोड़ेंगे

Transliteration

na tu śeṣaṃ śarās tāta kuryur astāḥ kirīṭinā | tāta saṃjaya! apane tejasā jvalitaḥ vajraḥ kasyacid mastake patitvā sambhavaḥ, tasya jīvanaṃ bācayed api; parantu kirīṭadhārī arjunena calitāḥ bāṇāḥ yasya laganti, taṃ jīvitaṃ na muñcanti ||

Translation

न तु शेषं शरास्तात कुर्युरस्ताः किरीटिना। संजय, सम्भवेत् कस्यचिद् मस्तके तेजसा ज्वलन् वज्रः पतित्वापि प्राणान् रक्षेत; किन्तु किरीटिनोऽर्जुनस्य मुक्ताः शराः यस्य देहं स्पृशन्ति तं जीवितं न मुञ्चन्ति॥

Word by Word

नnot

तुbut

शेषम्remainder; what is left; survivors

शराःarrows

तातdear one; O son (term of address)

कुर्युःwould make; would do; would leave

अस्ताःshot; hurled; discharged

किरीटिनाby the diadem-wearer (Arjuna)

Speaker

धृतराष्ट उवाच

Characters & Entities

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Sañjaya

Arjuna (Kirīṭin/Kirīṭadhārī)

Vajra (Indra’s thunderbolt)

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the terrifying certainty of consequences once a righteous and supremely skilled warrior acts: power guided by resolve can become inexorable. Ethically, it reflects Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s anxious recognition that choices leading to war unleash forces that cannot be easily contained or reversed.

What is happening in the narrative?

Dhṛtarāṣṭra, speaking to Sañjaya, expresses dread about Arjuna’s martial prowess. He claims that even a thunderbolt might spare a victim, but Arjuna’s arrows, once they strike, do not leave survivors—highlighting the looming devastation if conflict proceeds.