Mahabharata 7.95.25 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 95, Shloka 25

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 95 — Sātyaki’s Breakthrough and the Routing of Allied Contingents

Devanagari script

अर्जुनके उन बाणसमूहोंसे श्रुतायु और अच्युतायुके मस्तक कट गये। भुजाएँ छिज्न- भिन्न हो गयीं। वे दोनों आँधीके उखाड़े हुए वृक्षोंके समान धराशायी हो गये ।।

Transliteration

arjunake una bāṇasamūhoṃse śrutāyu aura acyutāyuke mastaka kaṭa gaye | bhujāeṃ chinna-bhinna ho gayīṃ | ve donoṃ āṃdhīke ukhāṛe hue vṛkṣoṃke samāna dharāśāyī ho gaye || śrutāyuṣaś ca nidhanaṃ vadhaś caivācyutāyuṣaḥ | lokavismāpanaṃ abhūt samudrastha iva śoṣaṇam ||

Translation

Sañjaya nói: Trúng những loạt tên của Arjuna, đầu của Śrutāyu và Acyutāyu bị chém lìa, tay chân cũng bị nghiền nát. Như cây bị bão nhổ bật gốc, cả hai ngã gục xuống đất. Cuộc hạ sát ấy—cái chết của Śrutāyu và sự gục ngã của Acyutāyu—khiến mọi người chứng kiến kinh ngạc, như thể chính đại dương đang bị hong cạn.

Word by Word

• श्रुतायुषः: of Śrutāyu
• श्रुतायुषः: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रुतायु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• निधनम्: death, destruction
• निधनम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: निधन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• वधः: slaying
• वधः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• एव: indeed, just
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• अच्युतायुषः: of Acyutāyu
• अच्युतायुषः: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: अच्युतायु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• लोक-विस्मापनम्: astonishment of the people
• लोक-विस्मापनम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: लोकविस्मापन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

• अभूत्: was, became
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: Aorist (luṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• समुद्र-स्थ: in the ocean / situated in the ocean
• समुद्र-स्थ: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: समुद्रस्थ (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• इव: like, as if
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• शोषणम्: drying up, desiccation
• शोषणम्: Upamana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शोषण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Arjuna
• Śrutāyu
• Acyutāyu
• arrows (bāṇa)
• ocean (samudra)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the awe-inspiring, almost unimaginable power displayed in righteous warfare: when a warrior acts with decisive skill in the battlefield role (kṣatriya-dharma), the outcome can appear world-shaking to witnesses—yet it remains part of the grim moral landscape of war, where prowess and death coexist.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Arjuna’s arrows strike down two opposing warriors, Śrutāyu and Acyutāyu, severing their heads and mangling their arms; they collapse like storm-uprooted trees. Their deaths shock the assembled fighters, compared to the impossible sight of the ocean drying up.