Shloka 54

Devanagari script

ततः पार्थो धनुर्गृह्ा दिव्यं जलदनि:स्वनम्‌ । पातयामास भीष्मस्य धनुश्कछित्त्वा त्रिभि: शरै:,तब अर्जुनने मेघके समान गम्भीर घोष करनेवाले दिव्य धनुषको हाथमें लेकर तीन बाणोंसे भीष्मके धनुषको काट गिराया

Transliteration

tataḥ pārtho dhanur gṛhya divyaṁ jaladanisvanam | pātayāmāsa bhīṣmasya dhanuś chittvā tribhiḥ śaraiḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya nói: Rồi Pārtha (Arjuna) cầm lấy cây cung thần vang rền như tiếng sấm mây, và bằng ba mũi tên đã chém đứt, đánh rơi cây cung của Bhīṣma.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

पार्थःPartha (Arjuna)

धनुःbow

गृह्यhaving taken/held

दिव्यम्divine

जलदनिःस्वनम्having the sound of a cloud (thunderous-sounding)

पातयामासcaused to fall, felled

भीष्मस्यof Bhishma

धनुःbow

छित्त्वाhaving cut

त्रिभिःwith three

शरैःwith arrows

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Pārtha (Arjuna)

Bhīṣma

divine bow

arrows

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even amid violence, dharma emphasizes disciplined action: skill, restraint, and purpose. Arjuna’s precise disabling of Bhīṣma’s weapon highlights controlled force rather than indiscriminate harm, aligning martial prowess with duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Arjuna taking up his thunderous divine bow and, with three arrows, cutting Bhīṣma’s bow so that it falls—an episode of tactical superiority in the Bhīṣma-led battle.