Mahabharata 7.170.19 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 170, Shloka 19

द्रौणिप्रतिज्ञा–नारायणास्त्रवर्णनम्

Drauṇi’s Vow and the Description of the Nārāyaṇāstra

Devanagari script

वृषसेनस्ततो राजन ट्रुपदं नवभि: शरै: | विद्ध्वा विव्याध सप्तत्या पुनरन्यैस्त्रिभिस्त्रिभि:

Transliteration

vṛṣasenastato rājan drupadaṃ navabhiḥ śaraiḥ | viddhvā vivyādha saptatyā punar anyais tribhis tribhiḥ ||

Translation

సంజయుడు పలికెను—ఓ రాజా! అప్పుడు వృషసేనుడు ద్రుపదుని తొమ్మిది బాణాలతో గాయపరచి, మరల డెబ్బై బాణాలతో తీవ్రంగా బీదాడు; అనంతరం ఇతర బాణాలను మూడు మూడు చొప్పున విడిచెను.

Word by Word

• वृषसेनः: Vrishasena
• वृषसेनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृषसेन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• ततः: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• द्रुपदम्: Drupada
• द्रुपदम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: द्रुपद
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• नवभिः: with nine
• नवभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नवन्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• विद्ध्वा: having pierced
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्यध्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (root usage)

• विव्याध: pierced, struck
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्यध्
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• सप्तत्या: with seventy
• सप्तत्या: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सप्तति
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• पुनः: again
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: पुनः

• अन्यैः: with other
• अन्यैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

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

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

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Vṛṣasena
• Drupada
• arrows (śara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the battlefield ethic of relentless martial exertion—skill and dominance are shown through repeated, measured volleys. Ethically, it also invites reflection on how war normalizes excess force, turning suffering into a metric of victory.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Vṛṣasena strikes King Drupada first with nine arrows, then with seventy more, and then continues to shoot additional arrows in sets of three, intensifying the assault.