Mahabharata · 7.17.15–16
॥
Devanāgarī
भूय एव तु संरब्धास् ते ऽर्जुनं सहकेशवम् ॥
आपूरयञ् शरैस् तीक्ष्णैस् तटाकम् इव वृष्टिभिः ॥
ततः शरसहस्राणि प्रापतन्न् अर्जुनं प्रति ॥
भ्रमराणाम् इव व्राताः फुल्लद्रुमगणे वने ॥
Transliteration (IAST)
bhūya eva tu saṃrabdhās te 'rjunaṃ sahakeśavam ||
āpūrayañ śarais tīkṣṇais taṭākam iva vṛṣṭibhiḥ ||
tataḥ śarasahasrāṇi prāpatann arjunaṃ prati ||
bhramarāṇām iva vrātāḥ phulladrumagaṇe vane ||
Word-by-word
SanskritIASTMeaning
भूयःbhūyaḥagain [once more]; anew
एवevaprecisely; [right] again
संरब्धाःsaṃrabdhāḥenraged [inflamed]; seized with fury
तेtethose; they
अर्जुनम्arjunamArjuna; [at] Arjuna
सहकेशवम्sahakeśavamtogether with Keshava [Krishna]; with Keshava beside him
आपूरयन्āpūrayancovered [flooded]; [filled] completely
शरैः तीक्ष्णैःśaraiḥ tīkṣṇaiḥwith sharp arrows; with honed arrows
तटाकम्taṭākama pond [reservoir]; [like] a lake
इवivaas [like]; just as
वृष्टिभिःvṛṣṭibhiḥwith showers [of rain]; with streams of rain
ततःtataḥthen; thereupon
शरसहस्राणिśarasahasrāṇithousands of arrows; arrows by the thousand
प्रापतन्prāpatanfell [rained down]; poured down
अर्जुनम् प्रतिarjunam pratiupon Arjuna; toward Arjuna
भ्रमराणाम्bhramarāṇāmof bees; [like] of bees
इवivaas [like]; just as
व्राताःvrātāḥswarms [multitudes]; flocks
फुल्लद्रुमगणेphulladrumagaṇein [a grove of] blossoming trees; in a cluster of trees in bloom
वनेvanein a forest; in a grove
Translation
Once more inflamed with fury, they covered Arjuna, together with Keshava, with sharp arrows, as showers of rain cover a pond. Then thousands of arrows poured down upon Arjuna, like swarms of bees in a forest amid blossoming trees.
Version
d2be8224779e · published Jul 19, 2026, 3:00:04 PM UTC
Available inRUENPage between verses with
Two images — a pond under a downpour and bees swarming over blossoming trees — depict the enemy's multitude and onslaught, yet both also betray their futility: a downpour fills a pond without destroying it, and bees hover over blossoms without harming the tree. So too the arrows stream upon Arjuna countlessly, yet do not overcome him. It is telling that Krishna shares this onslaught with him, an unmoved charioteer: where God is present, even the storm is powerless to break. The verse teaches that the enemy's numbers and fury may cloud the eye but do not decide the outcome; and that one who stands firm at the center of the storm — because the highest support is with him — remains whole where destruction seemed inevitable.