Mahabharata 7.116.18 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 116, Shloka 18

Śaineya’s Breakthrough and Reunion with Arjuna (शैनेयस्य समागमः)

Devanagari script

तौ तत्र समतिक्रान्तौ दृष्टवातीव तरस्विनौ । सिन्धुराजं तु सम्प्रेक्ष्य गाण्डीवस्येषुगोचरे

Transliteration

tau tatra samatikrāntau dṛṣṭvā'tīva tarasvinau | sindhurājaṃ tu samprekṣya gāṇḍīvasyeṣugocare ||

Translation

Sañjaya nói: “Thấy hai dũng sĩ ấy nhanh như gió, đã vượt qua mọi sự ngăn cản mà lọt vào nơi đó; lại thấy Jayadratha, vua xứ Sindhu, đứng trong tầm tên bắn ra từ cây Gāṇḍīva—bọn Kaurava, như bị Định mệnh thúc đẩy, buộc phải quyết định việc cần làm. Trong giờ khắc tàn sát khốc liệt ấy, khi chẳng còn lối nào ngoài cái chết, họ đã định đoạt bổn phận của mình ra sao?”

Word by Word

• तौ: those two
• तौ: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र

• समतिक्रान्तौ: having overstepped / having crossed
• समतिक्रान्तौ: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + अति + क्रम्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Dual, क्त (past passive participle)

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund)

• अतीव: exceedingly
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अतीव

• तरस्विनौ: swift/impetuous (two)
• तरस्विनौ: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तरस्विन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Dual

• सिन्धुराजम्: the king of Sindhu (Jayadratha)
• सिन्धुराजम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सिन्धुराज
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• सम्प्रेक्ष्य: having looked at / observing
• Type: Verb
• Root: सम् + प्र + ईक्ष्
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund)

• गाण्डीवस्य: of Gāṇḍīva (Arjuna's bow)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गाण्डीव
• Form: Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• इषुगोचरे: within the range of arrows
• इषुगोचरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: इषुगोचर
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Jayadratha (Sindhurāja, king of Sindhu)
• Gāṇḍīva (Arjuna’s bow)
• Kauravas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights dharma as decisive action under extreme pressure: when circumstances narrow to a single grim outcome, warriors still must choose and commit to what they judge as duty, even if compelled by the momentum of time (kāla) and the inevitability of death.

What is happening in the narrative?

Two formidable heroes have forced their way through the battlefield. Jayadratha, the Sindhu king, is now within the effective arrow-range of Arjuna’s bow, Gāṇḍīva. The Kauravas, sensing imminent catastrophe, must quickly determine their course of action in a near-hopeless situation.