Shloka 47

कर्णपर्व — पञ्चदशोऽध्यायः | Karṇa Parva, Chapter 15: Pāṇḍya’s Advance and Aśvatthāmā’s Counterstroke

Devanagari script

धनंजययुगान्ताक: संशप्तकमहार्णवम्‌ | व्यशोषयत दुःशोषं॑ ती3क्ष्पै: शरगभस्तिभि:

Transliteration

dhanañjaya-yugāntākaḥ saṁśaptaka-mahārṇavam | vyaśoṣayat duḥśoṣaṁ tīkṣṇaiḥ śara-gabhastibhiḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya nói: Dhanañjaya (Arjuna) như mặt trời vào cuối một kỷ nguyên, đã làm khô cạn đại dương quân Saṁśaptaka—một đại dương khó bề hong kiệt—bằng những mũi tên sắc bén rực cháy như các tia nắng dữ dội.

Word by Word

• धनंजय-युगान्तकः: Arjuna, the destroyer at the end of the age
• धनंजय-युगान्तकः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: धनंजययुगान्तक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• संशप्तक-महा-अर्णवम्: the great ocean (i.e., mass) of the Saṁśaptakas
• संशप्तक-महा-अर्णवम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: संशप्तकमहार्णव (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• व्यशोषयत्: caused to dry up; dried up
• Type: Verb
• Root: शुष् (धातु)
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada, Causative (णिच्)

• दुःशोषम्: hard to be dried up
• दुःशोषम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: दुःशोष (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• तीक्ष्णैः: with sharp (ones)
• तीक्ष्णैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: तीक्ष्ण (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• शर-गभस्तिभिः: with ray-like clusters of arrows
• शर-गभस्तिभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शरगभस्ति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhanañjaya (Arjuna)
• Saṁśaptakas
• arrows (śara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights steadfast resolve and disciplined power in a righteous struggle: when purpose is firm and action is precise, even a formidable, seemingly inexhaustible opposition can be decisively overcome.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes Arjuna’s onslaught against the Saṁśaptaka contingent. Using a grand simile, he says Arjuna—like the end-of-age sun—‘dries up’ their vast host with volleys of sharp arrows, rapidly thinning and breaking their ranks.