Shloka 18

भीष्मरथाभिमुख्यं — Arjuna’s advance with Śikhaṇḍin; Duḥśāsana’s interception

Devanagari script

अनयन्‌ परलोकाय शरै: संनतपर्वभि: । शरैश्न विविधैघोरैस्तत्र तत्र विशाम्पते

Transliteration

anayan paralokāya śaraiḥ sannatapārva-bhiḥ | śaraiś ca vividhair ghorais tatra tatra viśāmpate ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：他们以关节淬炼坚实的箭矢，又以种种可怖的利箭，使人奔赴来世——在战场上此处彼处射杀，噢，人中之主。

Word by Word

• अनयन्: they led / carried
• अनयन्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: नी (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (imperfect), 3rd, plural, परस्मैपद

• परलोकाय: to the other world (to death)
• परलोकाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: परलोक
• Form: masculine, dative, singular

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: masculine, instrumental, plural

• संनतपर्वभिः: with (arrows) having bent/curved joints (knots)
• संनतपर्वभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संनतपर्वन्
• Form: masculine, instrumental, plural

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: masculine, instrumental, plural

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

• विविधैः: various
• विविधैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विविध
• Form: masculine, instrumental, plural

• घोरैः: terrible
• घोरैः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर
• Form: masculine, instrumental, plural

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

• तत्र: there (here and there)
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र

• विशाम्पते: O lord of men (king)
• Type: Noun
• Root: विशाम्पति
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• arrows (śara)
• paraloka (the other world/afterlife)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical gravity of warfare: martial prowess and refined weaponry can swiftly become means of taking life, reminding the listener that battle inevitably entails death and the forced passage of beings toward the afterlife—an implicit call to reflect on responsibility and dharma even amid sanctioned war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes intense fighting in which warriors are struck down by many kinds of fearsome arrows. The imagery emphasizes widespread, relentless casualties across the battlefield—men falling in different places as the combatants rain arrows.