Mahabharata — Drona Parva, Shloka 376

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 107: Karṇa–Bhīma Saṃmarda

Arrow-storm Engagement

Devanagari script

अदृश्यं समरे चक्र: सायकौचै: समन्तत: । तब उन सभी पुरुषसिंह महारथियोंने भी समरांगणमें सब ओरसे बाणसमूहोंकी वर्षा करके अर्जुनको अदृश्य कर दिया

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

adṛśyaṃ samare cakruḥ sāyakaughaiḥ samantataḥ |

Translation

Sañjaya nói: Giữa trận mạc, họ khiến chàng như vô hình bốn phía, bằng những khối tên dày đặc trút xuống khắp nơi. Những đại xa chiến binh oai hùng như sư tử ấy, rải mưa loạt tên quanh chiến địa, đã phủ kín Arjuna đến nỗi không còn thấy được—một hình ảnh cho thấy võ lực có thể nhất thời che lấp cả vị anh hùng bậc nhất giữa cơn cuồng nộ của chiến tranh.

Word by Word

• अदृश्यम्: invisible (as an object/state made)
• अदृश्यम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अदृश्य
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

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

• चक्रः: made / did
• चक्रः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: कृ
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• सायकौघैः: with masses/hosts of arrows
• सायकौघैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सायकौघ
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• समन्ततः: on all sides, all around
• समन्ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: समन्ततस्

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Arjuna
• arrows (sāyaka)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how, in war, sheer force and coordinated aggression can overwhelm perception and visibility itself; it implicitly cautions that battlefield success often depends on collective tactics and intensity, not only individual fame—raising ethical awareness of war’s engulfing, dehumanizing momentum.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports that multiple great chariot-warriors unleash a surrounding rain of arrows, creating such a dense barrage that Arjuna becomes hidden from view on the battlefield.