Shloka 323

Devanagari script

धनुश्वचिच्छेद भल्‍लेन जातरूपपरिष्कृतम्‌ । उनमेंसे पाँच भल्लोंद्वारा दुर्योधनके सारथि और घोड़ोंको मारकर एक भल्लसे उसके सुवर्णभूषित धनुषको काट डाला

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

dhanuś ciccheda bhallena jātarūpa-pariṣkṛtam |

pañcabhir bhallair duryodhanasya sārathiṃ hayāṃś ca jaghāna, ekena bhallena tasya suvarṇa-bhūṣitaṃ dhanuś ciccheda |

Translation

สัญชัยกล่าวว่า—ด้วยศรภัลละอันคม เขาตัดคันศรที่ประดับทองเสีย แล้วด้วยศรภัลละห้าดอก เขาสังหารสารถีและม้าศึกของทุรโยธน์ และด้วยภัลละเพียงดอกเดียวก็ฟันคันศรทองของทุรโยธน์ให้ขาดอีกครั้ง

Word by Word

• धनुः: bow
• धनुः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनुस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• चिच्छेद: cut, severed
• चिच्छेद: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: छिद्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• भल्लेन: with an arrow (bhalla)
• भल्लेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भल्ल
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• जातरूपपरिष्कृतम्: adorned/embellished with gold
• जातरूपपरिष्कृतम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: जातरूप-परिष्कृत
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Duryodhana
• charioteer (sārathi)
• horses (hayāḥ)
• bow (dhanuḥ)
• bhalla (arrow)
• gold (jātarūpa/suvarṇa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage highlights how, in war, mastery and strategy often target a warrior’s supports—weapon, chariot-team, and charioteer—showing the grim ethical tension of kṣatriya combat where effectiveness can override compassion, and victory is pursued through disabling the opponent’s capacity to fight.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes a combatant (implied by context) using bhalla-arrows to sever Duryodhana’s gold-adorned bow and to kill his charioteer and horses, thereby crippling Duryodhana’s chariot and immediate fighting ability.