Mahabharata — Bhishma Parva, Shloka 34

भीष्मस्य अप्रतिमपराक्रमः — शिखण्डिपुरस्कृतः प्रहारः

Bhīṣma’s unmatched momentum and the assault with Śikhaṇḍin in the lead

Devanagari script

दुःशासनस्सत्रिभि: क्रुद्धः पार्थ विव्याध पत्रिभि: | ललाटे भरतश्रेष्ठ शरै: संनतपर्वभि:,भरतश्रेष्ठ) तब दुःशासनने कुपित होकर अर्जुनके ललाटमें झुकी हुई गाँठवाले तीन पंखयुक्त बाण मारे

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | duḥśāsanaḥ sa-tribhiḥ kruddhaḥ pārthaṃ vivyādha patribhiḥ | lalāṭe bharataśreṣṭha śaraiḥ saṃnata-parvabhiḥ ||

Translation

桑阇耶说道：杜沙娑那怒不可遏，以三支带羽之箭射中帕尔塔（阿周那）——婆罗多族中最卓越者啊，那些箭的节处下弯——正中其额。此景昭示：战场之怒驱人施以有的放矢的暴烈，而正义的战士则在挑衅之下受考验，需以忍耐与自制相持。

Word by Word

• दुःशासनः: Duhshasana
• दुःशासनः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: दुःशासन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• त्रिभिः: with three
• त्रिभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• क्रुद्धः: angry
• क्रुद्धः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रुध्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• पार्थ: O Partha (Arjuna)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• विव्याध: pierced / struck
• Type: Verb
• Root: व्यध्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), Third, Singular, Parasmaipada

• पत्रिभिः: with feathered (arrows)
• पत्रिभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पत्रिन्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

• ललाटे: on the forehead
• ललाटे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: ललाट
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• भरतश्रेष्ठ: O best of the Bharatas
• Type: Noun
• Root: भरतश्रेष्ठ
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• शरैः: with arrows
• शरैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शर
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• संनतपर्वभिः: with (arrows) having bent joints/knots
• संनतपर्वभिः: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संनतपर्वन्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Duḥśāsana
• Arjuna (Pārtha)
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by vocative bharataśreṣṭha)
• three feathered arrows
• forehead (lalāṭa)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how anger (krodha) manifests as deliberate harm in war, while the ethical test for a righteous warrior is to remain steady and disciplined under provocation, not letting wrath dictate conduct.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Duḥśāsana, furious, shoots Arjuna with three fletched arrows, striking his forehead—an immediate battlefield action within the Bhīṣma Parva war narration.