Shloka 48

Adhyāya 65: Dawn Assembly, Makara–Śyena Vyūhas, and Commander Engagements

Devanagari script

तस्यावर्जितनागस्य कार्ष्णि: परपुरंजय: । राज्ञो रजतपुड्खेन भल्लेनापाहरच्छिर:

Transliteration

tasyāvarjita-nāgasya kārṣṇiḥ para-puraṁ-jayaḥ | rājño rajata-puḍkhena bhallena apāharac chiraḥ ||

Translation

సంజయుడు పలికెను—తర్వాత పరపురజయుడైన కార్ష్ణి (అభిమన్యుడు), మరణసమయంలోనూ తన గజాన్ని విడువని ఆ రాజుని శిరస్సును వెండి పింఛాలతో కూడిన భల్లబాణంతో కోసివేశాడు।

Word by Word

• तस्य: of him/that (king)
• तस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• अवर्जित-नागस्य: of the one who does not abandon the elephant
• अवर्जित-नागस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Adjective (used substantively)
• Root: अवर्जितनाग
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• कार्ष्णिः: Kārṣṇi (Abhimanyu)
• कार्ष्णिः: Karta
• Type: Noun (proper)
• Root: कार्ष्णि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पर-पुरं-जयः: conqueror of enemy-cities
• पर-पुरं-जयः: Karta
• Type: Adjective (proper epithet)
• Root: परपुरंजय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• राज्ञः: of the king
• राज्ञः: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• रजत-पुड्खेन: with (a shaft) having a silver feather/fin
• रजत-पुड्खेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective (instrumental qualifier)
• Root: रजतपुड्ख
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• भल्लेन: with a bhalla-arrow
• भल्लेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भल्ल
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• अपाहरत्: cut off/removed
• Type: Verb
• Root: अप-हृ (हृ)
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• शिरः: head
• शिरः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Kārṣṇi (epithet of the warrior in the verse)
• Magadha (implied by the Hindi gloss: Magadha-king)
• the king (rājā)
• elephant (nāga)
• bhalla arrow (bhalla)
• silver-feathering (rajata-puḍkha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how unwavering attachment to a martial stance—here, refusing to abandon one’s war-elephant even when death is imminent—can be read as valor but also becomes a cause of ruin. In the ethical frame of the epic, battlefield prowess operates within kṣatriya-duty, yet the narrative repeatedly warns that pride and fixation harden into self-destructive obstinacy.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a battlefield moment: a warrior called Kārṣṇi, famed for conquering enemy strongholds, strikes a king who would not leave his elephant. With a broad-headed arrow (bhalla) having silver fletching, he severs the king’s head, marking a decisive and brutal turn in the combat.