Mahabharata 7.43.11 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 43, Shloka 11

अभिमन्योर् दारुणः संमर्दः

Abhimanyu’s fierce melee amid chariot formations

Devanagari script

अक्ष्णोनिमिषमात्रेण सो5न्यदादाय कार्मुकम्‌ | विव्याध दशभि: पार्थ तांश्षैवान्यांस्त्रिभिस्त्रिभि:

Transliteration

akṣṇo nimiṣa-mātreṇa so 'nyad ādāya kārmukam | vivyādha daśabhiḥ pārtha tāṁś caivānyāṁs tribhis tribhiḥ ||

Translation

آنکھ جھپکنے بھر میں اس نے دوسری کمان تھام لی اور یُدھِشٹھِر کو دس تیروں سے، اور دوسرے بہادروں کو بھی تین تین تیروں سے چھید دیا۔

Word by Word

• अक्ष्णोः: of (the two) eyes
• अक्ष्णोः: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अक्षि
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Dual

• निमिष: a blink
• निमिष: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: निमिष
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• मात्रेण: by the measure (i.e., within the span)
• मात्रेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: मात्रा
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• सः: he
• सः: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• अन्यत्: another (one)
• अन्यत्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• आदाय: having taken
• Type: Verb
• Root: आ + दा
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), Parasmaipada (usage-neutral for gerund), Non-finite

• कार्मुकम्: bow
• कार्मुकम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कार्मुक
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• विव्याध: pierced
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्यध्
• Form: लिट् (perfect), Perfect (past narrative), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• दशभिः: with ten
• दशभिः: Karana
• Type: Numeral
• Root: दशन्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• पार्थ: O Partha
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• तान्: those (men)
• तान्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• एव: indeed/just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• अन्यान्: others
• अन्यान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अन्य
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• त्रिभिः: with three
• त्रिभिः: Karana
• Type: Numeral
• Root: त्रि
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• त्रिभिः: with three (each)
• त्रिभिः: Karana
• Type: Numeral
• Root: त्रि
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• पार्थ (Pārtha/Arjuna, as addressee)
• युधिष्ठिर (Yudhiṣṭhira)
• कार्मुक (bow)
• बाण (arrows, implied)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how swiftly destructive power can operate in war: extraordinary skill enables mass harm in an instant, sharpening the ethical tension between martial excellence and the suffering it causes—an implicit reminder that prowess is not identical with righteousness.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a warrior, in the time of a blink, takes up another bow and shoots: Yudhiṣṭhira is struck with ten arrows, while other fighters are struck with three arrows each, showing rapid, overwhelming battlefield pressure.