Mahabharata 7.21.56 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 21, Shloka 56

द्रोणविक्रमदर्शनम् / The Display of Droṇa’s Onslaught and the Debate on Pāṇḍava Regrouping

Devanagari script

अशीत्या क्षत्रवर्माणं षड्विंशत्या सुदक्षिणम्‌ । क्षत्रदेव॑ तु भल्‍लेन रथनीडादपातयत्‌

Transliteration

aśītyā kṣatravarmāṇaṃ ṣaḍviṃśatyā sudakṣiṇam | kṣatradevaṃ tu bhallena rathanīḍād apātayat |

Translation

三阇耶说：他以八十箭射中刹帝罗跋摩，以二十六箭射中苏达克希那。继而以锋利的婆罗（bhalla）箭伤刹帝罗提婆，将他从战车座上掀落。

Word by Word

• अशीत्या: with eighty (arrows)
• अशीत्या: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अशीति
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• क्षत्रवर्माणम्: Kṣatravarman
• क्षत्रवर्माणम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षत्रवर्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• षड्विंशत्या: with twenty-six (arrows)
• षड्विंशत्या: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: षड्विंशति
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• सुदक्षिणम्: Sudakṣiṇa
• सुदक्षिणम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुदक्षिण
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• क्षत्रदेवम्: Kṣatradeva
• क्षत्रदेवम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षत्रदेव
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• तु: but/and then
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• भल्लेन: with a bhalla-arrow (broad-headed shaft)
• भल्लेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भल्ल
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Singular

• रथनीडात्: from the chariot-seat (lit. chariot-nest)
• रथनीडात्: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथनीड
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Singular

• अपातयत्: caused to fall; knocked down
• Type: Verb
• Root: पत्
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada, Yes (ṇic)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Kṣatravarman
• Sudakṣiṇa
• Kṣatradeva
• bhalla (arrow)
• ratha (chariot)
• rathanīḍa (chariot-seat)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the harsh ethic of the battlefield: measured prowess and decisive action can instantly overturn a warrior’s standing. It implicitly reflects kṣatriya-dharma in war—skill, resolve, and the acceptance that honor and life can change in a moment.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a combat episode in which a warrior strikes Kṣatravarman with eighty arrows, Sudakṣiṇa with twenty-six, and then uses a bhalla-arrow to wound Kṣatradeva and knock him down from the chariot-seat.