Shloka 86

Devanagari script

निहत्य समरे राजन्‌ शतशो5थ सहसत्रश: । न तस्यासीदनिर्भिन्न गात्रे द्वयड्गुलमन्तरम्‌

Transliteration

nihātya samare rājan śataśo ’tha sahasraśaḥ | na tasyāsīd anirbhinnā gātre dvyaṅgulam antaram mahārāja ||

Translation

三阇耶说道：大王啊，在战阵中毗湿摩先后斩杀数百、继而数千勇士。伟大的君王啊，他的身上竟连两指宽的一处空隙都没有不被箭矢穿透。

Word by Word

• निहत्य: having slain
• निहत्य: Karma
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (धातु)
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपद-भावार्थ (active sense)

• समरे: in battle
• समरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: समर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative, Singular

• राजन्: O king
• Type: Noun
• Root: राजन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• शतशः: by hundreds / hundreds of
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: शत (प्रातिपदिक)

• अथ: and then / and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अथ

• सहस्रशः: by thousands / thousands of
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सहस्र (प्रातिपदिक)

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न

• तस्य: of him / his
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद् (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• आसीत्: there was
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• अनिर्भिन्नम्: unpierced / unbroken
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अनिर्भिन्न (प्रातिपदिक; निः+भिद् क्त)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

• गात्रे: in (his) body/limb
• गात्रे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गात्र (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

• द्वि: two
• Type: Adjective
• Root: द्वि (संख्या-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: —, —, —

• अङ्गुलम्: a finger-breadth
• Type: Noun
• Root: अङ्गुल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• अन्तरम्: space / interval
• Type: Noun
• Root: अन्तर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular

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

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Bhīṣma
• arrows (bāṇa)
• battlefield (samara)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the extreme cost of war and the grim fulfillment of a warrior’s duty: even the mightiest, after vast slaughter, becomes a body marked by violence, highlighting both valor and the tragic consequences of kṣatriya warfare.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Bhīṣma, after killing countless fighters, has been so thoroughly struck by arrows that no two-finger-wide spot on his body remains unpierced—an image associated with Bhīṣma’s fall and his being transfixed by arrows.