Shloka 456

Devanagari script

गाड़ेयं पञ्चविंशत्या क्षुद्रकाणां समार्पयत्‌ । तदनन्तर अर्जुनने हँसकर गाण्डीव धनुषकी टंकार करते हुए गंगानन्दन भीष्मको पचीस बाण मारे

Transliteration

gāḍeyaṃ pañcaviṃśatyā kṣudrakāṇāṃ samārpayat | tadanantaraṃ arjunena haṃsakaṛ gāṇḍīva-dhanuṣas ṭaṅkāraṃ kurvatā gaṅgānandanaṃ bhīṣmaṃ pañcaviṃśati-bāṇaiḥ āhataḥ |

Translation

สัญชัยกล่าวว่า “แล้วอรชุนก็แย้มสรวล พลางให้คันธนูกาณฑีวะกึกก้องด้วยเสียงสายธนู ก่อนจะยิงศรยี่สิบห้าดอกใส่ภีษมะ โอรสแห่งคงคา”

Word by Word

गाण्डीवेनwith (the bow) Gāṇḍīva

पञ्चविंशत्याwith twenty-five (as a number); by a set of twenty-five

क्षुद्रकाणाम्of small (arrows/shafts) (i.e., small arrows)

समार्पयत्he delivered/shot/assigned (onto)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Arjuna

Bhishma

Ganga

Gandiva (bow)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the tension between reverence and duty: even an honored elder like Bhishma must be opposed in battle when one’s dharma and chosen allegiance demand it. Ethical action here is framed as disciplined adherence to role-based duty amid tragic conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports that Arjuna, smiling and sounding the Gandiva’s bowstring, shoots Bhishma—called the son of Ganga—with twenty-five arrows, marking a forceful exchange in the Kurukshetra war.