Shloka 213

Bhagadattā’s Deployment Against Ghaṭotkaca; Elephant-Corps Escalation

Devanagari script

अपराजितस्य सुनसं तव पुत्रस्य संयुगे । उन शत्रुसूदन वीरने बायें हाथसे धनुषको अच्छी तरह दबाकर झुकी हुई गाँठवाले बाणसे समरभूमिमें आपके पुत्र अपराजितका सुन्दर नासिकासे युक्त मस्तक काट डाला

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | aparājitasya sunāsaṃ tava putrasya saṃyuge | śatrusūdano vīraḥ vāme hastena dhanuḥ suṣṭhu niṣpīḍya namragranthinā bāṇena samara-bhūmau tava putrasya aparājitasya sunāsaṃ mastakaṃ ciccheda |

Translation

三阇耶说道：在鏖战正酣之际，那位诛敌的英雄以左手牢牢按住弓身，随即以带倒钩的利箭，在战场上斩落了你儿阿波罗阇多那俊美、鼻梁端正的头颅。此景昭示刹帝利之战的冷酷决绝：勇武与技艺纵然耀目，生命却可在一瞬间被截断。

Word by Word

• अपराजितस्य: of the unconquered (Aparājita)
• अपराजितस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Adjective
• Root: अपराजित
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• सुनासम्: having a beautiful nose (handsome-nosed)
• सुनासम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सु-नास
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• तव: your
• तव: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: —, Genitive, Singular

• पुत्रस्य: of (your) son
• पुत्रस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: पुत्र
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• संयुगे: in battle
• संयुगे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संयुग
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Aparājita
• tava putra (Dhṛtarāṣṭra's son, i.e., a Kaurava prince)
• śatrusūdana (epithet of the warrior who strikes)
• bow (dhanuḥ)
• arrow (bāṇa)
• battlefield (samara-bhūmi)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the harsh reality of righteous warfare as conceived in the epic: a kṣatriya’s duty involves decisive action and martial excellence, yet the outcome remains grim—life is fragile, and victory is purchased through irreversible loss.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, during the battle, a warrior described as 'Śatrusūdana' grips the bow firmly and with a barbed arrow cuts off the head of Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s son Aparājita on the battlefield.