Shloka 19

Adhyāya 108 — Nimitta-darśana and Drona’s counsel amid Arjuna’s advance (निमित्तदर्शनं द्रोणोपदेशश्च)

Devanagari script

ते निपेतुर्महाराज निहता दृढ्धन्विभि:

Transliteration

te nipetur mahārāja nihatā dṛḍhadhanvibhiḥ

Translation

桑迦耶说道：哦，大王，那些勇士被沉稳坚毅的弓手射倒，纷纷坠地——这是战阵冷酷必然的写照：技艺与决心带来迅疾的后果，而战场本身成了冲突代价的见证。

Word by Word

• ते: they (those)
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• निपेतुः: fell down
• निपेतुः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-पत्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Plural

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• निहताः: slain
• निहताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि-हन्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• दृढधन्विभिः: by firm-bowed (archers)
• दृढधन्विभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: दृढधन्विन्
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (addressed as Mahārāja)
• archers (dṛḍhadhanvinaḥ)
• fallen warriors (te)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the inevitability of consequences in war: steadfast skill and intent lead to decisive outcomes, while the battlefield reveals the heavy moral and human cost that accompanies kṣatriya duty.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that certain fighters have been struck down by resolute archers and have fallen on the battlefield, continuing the live account of the Kurukṣetra combat.