Mahabharata 7.116.87 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 116, Shloka 87

Śaineya’s Breakthrough and Reunion with Arjuna (शैनेयस्य समागमः)

Devanagari script

विव्याध पाण्डवान्‌ युद्धे त्रिभिस्त्रिभिरजिद्वागै: । शिखण्डिनं च विव्याध त्रिभि: पठचभिरेव च

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

vivyādha pāṇḍavān yuddhe tribhis tribhir ajidvāgaiḥ |

śikhaṇḍinaṃ ca vivyādha tribhiḥ pañcabhir eva ca, bharataśreṣṭha ||

Translation

సంజయుడు పలికెను—భరతశ్రేష్ఠా! కృతవర్మ యుద్ధంలో పాండవులను మూడు మూడు బాణాలతో ఛేదించాడు. శిఖండినిని కూడా మూడు బాణాలతో, ఆపై ఐదు బాణాలతో గాయపరిచాడు.

Word by Word

• विव्याध: pierced, wounded
• विव्याध: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्यध् (विध्/व्यध्)
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3, Singular, Parasmaipada

• पाण्डवान्: the Pāṇḍavas
• पाण्डवान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• युद्धे: in battle
• युद्धे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: युद्ध
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• त्रिभिः: with three
• त्रिभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• त्रिभिः: with three (each time)
• त्रिभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• अजिद्वागैः: with battle-going arrows (lit. war-moving shafts)
• अजिद्वागैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अजिद्वाग (अजि-द्वाग)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• शिखण्डिनम्: Śikhaṇḍin
• शिखण्डिनम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिखण्डिन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• विव्याध: pierced, wounded
• विव्याध: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्यध् (विध्/व्यध्)
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3, Singular, Parasmaipada

• त्रिभिः: with three
• त्रिभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• पञ्चभिः: with five
• पञ्चभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पञ्च
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• एव: indeed, just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• भरतश्रेष्ठ: O best of the Bharatas
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरत-श्रेष्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Pāṇḍavas
• Śikhaṇḍin
• Kṛtavarmā
• arrows (bāṇa)
• bow (dhanuḥ, implied by context)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the relentless momentum of battlefield duty (kṣatriya-dharma) and the moral gravity of war: martial excellence is ethically neutral in itself, but its use gains moral weight from the cause, allegiance, and consequences within the larger dharma-conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Kṛtavarmā, after continuing the fight with unwavering force, wounds the Pāṇḍava warriors by striking them with sets of three arrows, and then also pierces Śikhaṇḍin with three and five arrows, intensifying the combat in this section of Droṇa Parva.