Shloka 14

Adhyāya 107 — बहुयुद्धप्रकरणम्

Multiple Defensive Engagements to Protect Bhīṣma

Devanagari script

गाण्डीवधारी अर्जुनके भयंकर पराक्रमको जाननेके कारण वे लोग उत्साहके साथ कोलाहल और सिंहनाद करते हुए सब ओरसे भीष्मपर आक्रमण करने लगे ।।

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | gāṇḍīvadhārī arjunake bhayaṅkara parākramako jānane ke kāraṇa ve log utsāha ke sātha kolāhala aura siṃhanāda karate hue saba or se bhīṣma para ākramaṇa karane lage || tataḥ tāladhvajaḥ śūraḥ pāṇḍavānāṃ varūthinīm | chādayāmāsa samare śaraiḥ saṃnataparvabhiḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya thưa: “Biết rõ uy lực ghê gớm của Arjuna, người mang cung Gāṇḍīva, các chiến binh hăng hái nổi lên tiếng ồn ào và tiếng gầm sư tử, rồi từ mọi phía xông đánh Bhīṣma. Khi ấy, Bhīṣma—vị dũng tướng có lá cờ mang dấu hiệu cây thốt nốt—đã dùng những mũi tên có các đốt cong mà phủ kín trận thế quân Pāṇḍava trong cuộc giao tranh.”

Word by Word

• ततः: then/thereupon
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• तालध्वजः: he whose banner bears a palm-tree (Bhishma)
• तालध्वजः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तालध्वज
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• शूरः: the hero/brave one
• शूरः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: शूर
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पाण्डवानाम्: of the Pandavas
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Plural

• वरूथिनीम्: army/host
• वरूथिनीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: वरूथिनी
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• छादयामास: covered/overspread
• Type: Verb
• Root: छाद्
• Form: Perfect (Periphrastic Perfect), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• समरे: in battle
• समरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समर
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• संनतपर्वभिः: with (arrows) having bent joints/knots
• संनतपर्वभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संनतपर्वन्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Arjuna
• Gāṇḍīva
• Bhīṣma
• Pāṇḍavas
• Pāṇḍava army (varūthinī)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how recognition of extraordinary prowess (Arjuna’s) intensifies collective resolve, and how a commander (Bhīṣma) responds with disciplined, overwhelming force. Ethically, it reflects the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension: warriors act from duty and honor, yet those very virtues can accelerate destruction when harnessed to war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Hearing/knowing Arjuna’s fearsome might, the fighters raise loud battle-cries and surge to attack Bhīṣma from all directions. Bhīṣma, identified by his palmyra-emblem banner, counters by showering the Pāṇḍava formation with a dense volley of arrows, effectively ‘covering’ their army.