Shloka 186

Adhyāya 104 — Śikhaṇḍin-puraskāraḥ (Śikhaṇḍin as Vanguard) and Bhīṣma’s Counter-Advance

Devanagari script

महेन्द्रप्रतिमं कार्ष्णि छादयामास पत्रिभि: । महाराज! तब अमर्षशील अलम्बुषने कुपित होकर देवराज इन्द्रके समान पराक्रमी अर्जुनकुमारको पंखवाले बाणोंसे आच्छादित कर दिया

Transliteration

mahendrapratimaṃ kārṣṇi chādayāmāsa patribhiḥ | mahārāja! tad amarṣaśīlaḥ alambuṣaṇaḥ kupitaḥ bhūtvā devarāja-indra-samāna-parākramaṃ arjuna-kumāraṃ pakṣavat-bāṇaiḥ ācchāditavān |

Translation

สัญชัยกล่าวว่า—ข้าแต่มหาราช ครั้นแล้วอลัมพุษะผู้ใจร้อน เมื่อโกรธเกรี้ยว ก็ระดมยิงศรมีปีกเข้าปกคลุมบุตรแห่งอรชุน ผู้ทรงเดชดุจพระอินทร์ จนมิดทั่วกาย

Word by Word

• महेन्द्रप्रतिमम्: like Mahendra (Indra)
• महेन्द्रप्रतिमम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महेन्द्र-प्रतिम
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• कार्ष्णि: O descendant of Kṛṣṇa (Kārṣṇi)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्ष्णि
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• छादयामास: covered, enveloped
• Type: Verb
• Root: छाद्
• Form: Perfect (Periphrastic), Third, Singular

• पत्रिभिः: with feathered (arrows)
• पत्रिभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्रिन्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Dhritarashtra
• Alambushana
• Indra
• Arjuna’s son (Abhimanyu)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how anger (amarṣa, krodha) can drive a warrior to attempt domination through overwhelming force; ethically, it contrasts disciplined valor with rage-driven aggression, reminding that inner control is integral to righteous conduct even in war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that Alambuṣaṇa, provoked and furious, unleashes a dense volley of feathered arrows, effectively ‘covering’ Arjuna’s son on the battlefield—an image of intense pressure and escalating combat.