Mahabharata 6.97.32 — Bhishma Parva, Adhyaya 97, Shloka 32

अभिमन्यु–अलम्बुसयुद्धम् / The Duel of Abhimanyu and Alambusa

with Arjuna’s approach to Bhīṣma

Devanagari script

येन लोकत्रयं क्रोधात्‌ त्रासितं स्वेन तेजसा । वह महाधनुर्धर वीर प्रतिदिन द्रोणपुत्र अश्वत्थामाके साथ स्पर्धा रखता था। महाराज! उसने अपने विशाल धनुषको खींचकर एक पंखयुक्त बाणसे अश्वत्थामाको उसी प्रकार घायल कर दिया

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | yena lokatrayaṁ krodhāt trāsitaṁ svena tejasā | sa mahādhanurdharo vīraḥ pratidinaṁ droṇaputreṇa aśvatthāmnā sārdhaṁ spardhate sma | mahārāja! sa vipulaṁ dhanuḥ saṁyamya pakṣavatā śareṇa aśvatthāmānam evaṁ viddhavān, yathā pūrvakāle devārthe indreṇa bhayaṅkaraṁ vipracitti-nāma durdharṣaṁ dānavam viddham; sa dānavaḥ krodha-tejasā lokatrayaṁ trāsayām āsa | tathā nīlena nirbhinnaḥ sumuktena patattriṇā ||

Translation

Sañjaya thưa: Vị cung thủ hùng mạnh—kẻ từng vì cơn thịnh nộ và hào quang rực cháy của mình mà làm kinh hãi cả ba cõi—đã bị Aśvatthāma, con của Droṇa, ngày ngày đối địch tranh tài. Tâu Đại vương, kéo căng chiếc đại cung đến tận cùng, ông bắn một mũi tên có cánh làm Aśvatthāma bị thương, hệt như Indra thuở xưa vì chư thiên mà làm bị thương Dānava Vipracitti, kẻ đáng sợ và bất khả khuất phục—kẻ đã dùng cơn giận và uy quang khiến ba cõi chìm trong khiếp đảm. Bởi vậy Aśvatthāma bị mũi tên có cánh, phóng ra chuẩn xác ấy, xuyên thấu.

Word by Word

• येन: by whom/whereby
• येन: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: यद्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• लोकत्रयम्: the three worlds
• लोकत्रयम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोकत्रय
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• क्रोधात्: from anger / out of anger
• क्रोधात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्रोध
• Form: Masculine, Ablative, Singular

• त्रासितम्: terrified
• त्रासितम्: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: त्रासित
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular, Passive (participial)

• स्वेन: by his own
• स्वेन: Karana
• Type: Pronoun/Adjective
• Root: स्व
• Form: Neuter/Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• तेजसा: by (his) splendor/energy
• तेजसा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: तेजस्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• तथा: thus/so; likewise
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तथा

• नीलेन: with a blue/dark (one)
• नीलेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नील
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• निर्भिन्नः: pierced; split through
• Type: Verb
• Root: निर्भिन्न
• Form: क्त (past passive participle), Masculine, Nominative, Singular, Passive (participial)

• सुमुक्तेन: well-released; well-shot
• सुमुक्तेन: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सुमुक्त
• Form: क्त (past passive participle used adjectivally), Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• पतत्त्रिणा: with an arrow (lit. winged one)
• पतत्त्रिणा: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पतत्त्रिन्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sanjaya)
• महाराज (Dhritarashtra, implied addressee)
• द्रोणपुत्र अश्वत्थामा (Ashvatthama)
• इन्द्र (Indra)
• विप्रचित्ति (Vipracitti)
• दानव (Danava)
• महाधनुः (great bow)
• पंखयुक्त/पतत्त्रि शर (winged/feathered arrow)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how uncontrolled anger (krodha) magnifies destructive power (tejas) and spreads fear, using a mythic analogy to frame battlefield prowess within a moral warning: brilliance in war is formidable, but when fueled by wrath it becomes world-disturbing.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya describes a daily contest of arms involving Ashvatthama; a mighty archer draws his great bow and strikes Ashvatthama with a feathered arrow, likening the wound to Indra’s ancient wounding of the Danava Vipracitti, famed for terrifying the three worlds.