Shloka 40

भीष्मरक्षण-उद्योगः, शिखण्डि-विवर्जनं, सर्वतोभद्र-व्यूहः

Protection of Bhīṣma, Exemption of Śikhaṇḍin, and the Sarvatobhadra Array

Devanagari script

चतुर्भिरथ नाराचैरावन्त्यस्य महात्मन: । जघान चतुरो वाहान्‌ क्रोधसंरक्तलोचन:,इसके बाद क्रोधसे लाल आँखें करके घटोत्कचने चार नाराचोंद्वारा महामना अवन्‍न्तीनरेशके चारों घोड़ोंको मार डाला

Transliteration

caturbhir atha nārācair āvantyasya mahātmanaḥ | jaghāna caturo vāhān krodha-saṃrakta-locanaḥ ||

Translation

అనంతరం కోపంతో ఎర్రబడిన కళ్లతో ఉన్న ఆ భయంకర యోధుడు నాలుగు నారాచ బాణాలతో మహాత్ముడైన అవంతీ రాజుని నాలుగు గుర్రాలను సంహరించాడు।

Word by Word

चतुर्भिःwith four

नाराचैःby iron arrows (narācas)

आवन्त्यस्यof the Avanti (king)

महात्मनःof the great-souled one

जघानstruck down / killed

चतुरःfour

वाहान्horses (draught animals)

क्रोध-संरक्त-लोचनःhe whose eyes were reddened with anger

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Avanti (Āvantī)

King of Avanti (Āvantya)

nārāca arrows

chariot horses (vāhāḥ)

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 how anger (krodha) manifests outwardly and fuels ruthless efficiency in war—here, disabling an enemy by killing the horses. Ethically, it points to the destructive momentum of wrath and the grim logic of battlefield duty where strategic harm replaces restraint.

What is happening in the narrative?

In Sanjaya’s battlefield report, a warrior with eyes reddened by anger uses four nārāca arrows to kill the four horses of the Avanti king’s chariot, effectively immobilizing him and shifting the immediate tactical advantage.