Mahabharata 7.45.23 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 45, Shloka 23

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 45: Saubhadra–Lakṣmaṇa-saṃyoga and Kaurava Counter-Encirclement

Devanagari script

एकधा शतधा राजन्‌ दृश्यते सम सहस्रधा । अलातचक्रवत्‌ संख्ये क्षिप्रमस्त्राणि दर्शयन्‌

Transliteration

ekadhā śatadhā rājan dṛśyate sa sahasradhā | alātacakravat saṅkhye kṣipram astrāṇi darśayan ||

Translation

اے راجن! وہ نہایت تیزی سے استروں کا کمال دکھاتا ہوا میدانِ جنگ میں الَات چکر کی مانند کبھی ایک، کبھی سو، کبھی ہزار صورتوں میں دکھائی دیتا تھا۔

Word by Word

• एकधा: in one way / singly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एकधा
• Form: Avyaya (adverb)

• शतधा: in a hundred ways
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शतधा
• Form: Avyaya (adverb)

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन्
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• दृश्यते: is seen / appears
• दृश्यते: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Present, Passive, 3rd person, Singular

• समम्: at once / simultaneously
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सम
• Form: Avyaya (adverb)

• सहस्रधा: in a thousand ways
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहस्रधा
• Form: Avyaya (adverb)

• अलातचक्रवत्: like a firebrand-wheel
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अलातचक्रवत्
• Form: Avyaya (vat-pratyaya: 'like/as')

• संख्ये: in battle
• संख्ये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संख्या
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• क्षिप्रम्: quickly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: क्षिप्र
• Form: Avyaya (adverb)

• अस्त्राणि: weapons (missiles)
• अस्त्राणि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अस्त्र
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• दर्शयन्: showing / displaying
• दर्शयन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Present active participle (शतृ), Masculine, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• King Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• alātacakra (whirling firebrand/torch-circle)
• astra (weapons/missiles)
• saṅkhya (battlefield)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how extraordinary speed and technical mastery can alter perception in war, creating an appearance of many forms from one person—an image that conveys both the power of skill and the psychological impact (fear, confusion) it produces.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a warrior, rapidly wielding and releasing weapons in the thick of battle, seemed to appear as one, a hundred, or a thousand—like the circular streak of light seen when a burning brand is spun quickly.