Shloka 6

कर्णवधप्रसङ्गः / The Context of Karṇa’s Fall

Krishna’s Dharmic Recollection and the Decisive Astra

Devanagari script

अष्टागवामष्ट शतानि बाणान्‌ मया प्रयुद्धस्य वहन्ति तस्य । तांस्तेन मुक्तानहमस्य बाणै- व्यनाशयं वायुरिवा भ्रजालम्‌

Transliteration

arjuna uvāca |

aṣṭāgavām aṣṭa śatāni bāṇān mayā prayuddhasya vahanti tasya |

tāṁs tena muktān aham asya bāṇair vyanāśayaṁ vāyur ivā bhrajālam ||

Translation

Arjuna nói: “Giữa lúc giao tranh, hắn phóng về phía ta tám trăm mũi tên—nhanh như được tám tuấn mã mang đi. Nhưng những mũi tên hắn bắn ra, ta đã dùng tên của mình bẻ gãy, như gió cuốn tan một khối rực cháy chói lòa.”

Word by Word

• अष्ट: eight
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टन्
• Form: —, —, —

• अगवाम्: of cows
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो
• Form: Feminine, Genitive, Plural

• अष्ट: eight
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अष्टन्
• Form: —, —, —

• शतानि: hundreds
• शतानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शत
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• बाणान्: arrows
• बाणान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाण
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• मया: by me
• मया: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अहम्
• Form: —, Instrumental, Singular

• प्रयुद्धस्य: of (him) fighting / of the fighter
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-युध्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• वहन्ति: carry / bear
• Type: Verb
• Root: वह्
• Form: Present, Third, Plural

• तस्य: of him
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• तान्: those (arrows)
• तान्: Karma
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• तेन: by him
• तेन: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• मुक्तान्: released / shot
• Type: Verb
• Root: मुच्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• अहम्: I
• अहम्: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अहम्
• Form: —, Nominative, Singular

• अस्य: of this (man) / of him
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• बाणैः: with arrows
• बाणैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: बाण
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• व्यनाशयम्: I destroyed
• Type: Verb
• Root: वि-नश्
• Form: Imperfect (Past), First, Singular

• वायुः: wind
• वायुः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वायु
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• इव: like / as
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: इव

• भ्रजालम्: a mass/net of radiance (glare)
• भ्रजालम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: भ्रजाल
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Arjuna
• arrows (bāṇa)
• wind (vāyu)
• bhrajāla (mass of radiance/flame)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights disciplined strength in righteous combat: even when faced with overwhelming force, a warrior must respond with skill and steadiness, neutralizing harm without losing composure—an aspect of kṣatriya-dharma in the epic’s battlefield ethics.

What is happening in the narrative?

Arjuna reports that his opponent shot a massive volley of eight hundred arrows at him, but Arjuna countered by cutting down or destroying those incoming shafts with his own arrows, likening the act to wind dispersing a blazing mass of light.