Shloka 69

द्रोणपुत्रस्याग्नेयास्त्रप्रयोगः — अर्जुनस्य ब्राह्मास्त्रप्रतिघातः — व्यासोपदेशः

Aśvatthāmā’s Agneyāstra, Arjuna’s Brāhmāstra Counter, and Vyāsa’s Instruction

Devanagari script

अभ्ययात्‌ त्वरितो युद्धे किरन्‌ शरशतान्‌ बहून्‌ तथैव पार्थिवा: सर्वे सात्यकिं पर्यवारयन्‌,राजन्‌! जब शकुनि पाण्डव-सेनाकी ओर चला गया, तब विशाल सेनाके साथ सूतपुत्र कर्णने युद्धस्थलमें कई सौ बाणोंकी वर्षा करते हुए तुरंत ही सात्यकिपर आक्रमण किया। इसी प्रकार अन्य सब राजाओंने भी सात्यकिको घेर लिया

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

abhyayāt tvarito yuddhe kiran śaraśatān bahūn |

tathaiva pārthivāḥ sarve sātyakiṃ paryavārayan rājan ||

Translation

సంజయుడు పలికెను—అతడు యుద్ధంలో వేగంగా ముందుకు దూసుకెళ్లి అనేక శత బాణాలను చల్లెను. అలాగే, ఓ రాజా, ఇతర రాజులందరూ సాత్యకిని చుట్టుముట్టిరి.

Word by Word

• {'sañjaya uvāca': 'Sañjaya said', 'abhyayāt': 'advanced, moved forward (toward the enemy)', 'tvaritaḥ': 'swift, hastening', 'yuddhe': 'in battle', 'kiran': 'scattering, showering', 'śara-śatān': 'hundreds of arrows', 'bahūn': 'many', 'tathaiva': 'just so, likewise', 'pārthivāḥ': 'kings, rulers', 'sarve': 'all', 'sātyakim': 'Sātyaki (accusative singular)', 'paryavārayan': 'surrounded, encircled', 'rājan': 'O King (address to Dhṛtarāṣṭra)'}

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Sātyaki
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• pārthivāḥ (kings/rulers)
• śara (arrows)
• yuddha (battlefield)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how war rapidly concentrates force against a single target: collective strategy (encirclement) and individual martial skill (arrow-shower) drive events, illustrating the harsh, duty-bound intensity of kṣatriya warfare where restraint is difficult once escalation begins.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a warrior rushes forward in battle, raining hundreds of arrows, and that all the kings on that side then close in to surround Sātyaki, making him the immediate focus of a coordinated attack.