Shloka 48

Devanagari script

तस्यावर्जितनागस्य कार्ष्णि: परपुरंजय: । राज्ञो रजतपुड्खेन भल्लेनापाहरच्छिर:,फिर शत्रु-नगरीपर विजय पानेवाले अर्जुनपुत्र अभिमन्युने मरनेपर भी हाथीको न छोड़नेवाले मगधराजका मस्तक रजतमय पंखवाले भल्‍्लके द्वारा काट गिराया

Transliteration

tasyāvarjita-nāgasya kārṣṇiḥ para-puraṁ-jayaḥ | rājño rajata-puḍkhena bhallena apāharac chiraḥ ||

Translation

Sinabi ni Sañjaya: Pagkaraan, si Kārṣṇi—manlulupig ng mga kuta ng kaaway—ay pumutol sa ulo ng haring iyon, na hindi iniwan ang kanyang elepante kahit kaharap na ang kamatayan, sa pamamagitan ng palasong bhalla na may pilak na balahibo.

Word by Word

• तस्य: of him/that (king)
• तस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• अवर्जित-नागस्य: of the one who does not abandon the elephant
• अवर्जित-नागस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Adjective (used substantively)
• Root: अवर्जितनाग
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• कार्ष्णिः: Kārṣṇi (Abhimanyu)
• कार्ष्णिः: Karta
• Type: Noun (proper)
• Root: कार्ष्णि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पर-पुरं-जयः: conqueror of enemy-cities
• पर-पुरं-जयः: Karta
• Type: Adjective (proper epithet)
• Root: परपुरंजय
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• राज्ञः: of the king
• राज्ञः: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• रजत-पुड्खेन: with (a shaft) having a silver feather/fin
• रजत-पुड्खेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective (instrumental qualifier)
• Root: रजतपुड्ख
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• भल्लेन: with a bhalla-arrow
• भल्लेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भल्ल
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• अपाहरत्: cut off/removed
• Type: Verb
• Root: अप-हृ (हृ)
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• शिरः: head
• शिरः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शिरस्
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Kārṣṇi (epithet of the warrior in the verse)
• Magadha (implied by the Hindi gloss: Magadha-king)
• the king (rājā)
• elephant (nāga)
• bhalla arrow (bhalla)
• silver-feathering (rajata-puḍkha)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how unwavering attachment to a martial stance—here, refusing to abandon one’s war-elephant even when death is imminent—can be read as valor but also becomes a cause of ruin. In the ethical frame of the epic, battlefield prowess operates within kṣatriya-duty, yet the narrative repeatedly warns that pride and fixation harden into self-destructive obstinacy.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a battlefield moment: a warrior called Kārṣṇi, famed for conquering enemy strongholds, strikes a king who would not leave his elephant. With a broad-headed arrow (bhalla) having silver fletching, he severs the king’s head, marking a decisive and brutal turn in the combat.