महाभारतः mahābhārataḥ - book-8, chapter-17, verse-24

तेषामष्टौ महानागांश्चतुःषष्ट्या सुतेजनैः ।
सहदेवो जघानाशु ते पेतुः सह सादिभिः ॥२४॥

24. teṣāmaṣṭau mahānāgāṁścatuḥṣaṣṭyā sutejanaiḥ ,
sahadevo jaghānāśu te petuḥ saha sādibhiḥ.

24. teṣām aṣṭau mahānāgān catuḥṣaṣṭyā sutejanaiḥ
sahadevaḥ jaghāna āśu te petuḥ saha sādibhiḥ

24. Sahadeva swiftly killed eight of those great elephants using sixty-four finely sharpened arrows. They (the elephants) fell down along with their riders.

Words meanings summery:

• तेषाम् (teṣām) - of those elephants (mentioned in the previous verse) (of them, of those)

• अष्टौ (aṣṭau) - eight

• महानागान् (mahānāgān) - great elephants (great elephants, large serpents)

• चतुःषष्ट्या (catuḥṣaṣṭyā) - by sixty-four (arrows, implied from 'sutejanaiḥ') (by sixty-four)

• सुतेजनैः (sutejanaiḥ) - by finely sharpened (arrows, implied) (by well-sharpened, by finely honed)

• सहदेवः (sahadevaḥ) - Sahadeva (name of a Pāṇḍava brother)

• जघान (jaghāna) - he struck, he killed, he slew

• आशु (āśu) - quickly, swiftly, immediately

• ते (te) - they (the great elephants) (they)

• पेतुः (petuḥ) - they fell, they dropped

• सह (saha) - with, together with

• सादिभिः (sādibhiḥ) - by their riders (on the elephants) (by riders, by horsemen)

Words meanings and morphology

तेषाम् (teṣām) - of those elephants (mentioned in the previous verse) (of them, of those)

(pronoun)

Genitive, masculine, plural of tat

tat - that, those, he, she, it

Note: Refers to the elephants mentioned previously.

अष्टौ (aṣṭau) - eight

(numeral)

Note: Qualifies 'mahānāgān'.

महानागान् (mahānāgān) - great elephants (great elephants, large serpents)

(noun)

Accusative, masculine, plural of mahānāga

mahānāga - great elephant, large serpent

Compound type : karmadhāraya (mahā+nāga)

• mahā – great, large, mighty
  adjective
• nāga – elephant, serpent
  noun (masculine)

Note: Object of 'jaghāna'.

चतुःषष्ट्या (catuḥṣaṣṭyā) - by sixty-four (arrows, implied from 'sutejanaiḥ') (by sixty-four)

(numeral)

Compound type : dvandva (catur+ṣaṣṭi)

• catur – four
  numeral
• ṣaṣṭi – sixty
  numeral (feminine)

Note: Specifies the number of weapons used (implied arrows).

सुतेजनैः (sutejanaiḥ) - by finely sharpened (arrows, implied) (by well-sharpened, by finely honed)

(adjective)

Instrumental, masculine, plural of sutejana

sutejana - well-sharpened, finely honed, very keen

Compound of 'su-' (well, finely) and 'tejana' (sharpening, sharp). 'tejana' from root √tij (to sharpen).

Compound type : karmadhāraya (su+tejana)

• su – good, well, very
  indeclinable
• tejana – sharpening, sharp
  adjective (masculine)
  From root √tij.
  Root: tij (class 1)

Note: Qualifies the implied arrows used as instruments.

सहदेवः (sahadevaḥ) - Sahadeva (name of a Pāṇḍava brother)

(proper noun)

Nominative, masculine, singular of sahadeva

sahadeva - Sahadeva (one of the Pāṇḍava brothers)

Note: Subject of 'jaghāna'.

जघान (jaghāna) - he struck, he killed, he slew

(verb)

3rd person , singular, active, perfect (lit) of han

Perfect Active

Root √han (to strike, kill), perfect 3rd person singular.

Root: han (class 2)

Note: Main verb of the action.

आशु (āśu) - quickly, swiftly, immediately

(indeclinable)

Note: Adverb modifying 'jaghāna'.

ते (te) - they (the great elephants) (they)

(pronoun)

Nominative, masculine, plural of tat

tat - that, those, he, she, it

Note: Refers to the elephants killed by Sahadeva.

पेतुः (petuḥ) - they fell, they dropped

(verb)

3rd person , plural, active, perfect (lit) of pat

Perfect Active

Root √pat (to fall), perfect 3rd person plural.

Root: pat (class 1)

Note: Verb for the elephants.

सह (saha) - with, together with

(indeclinable)

Note: Governs instrumental case 'sādibhiḥ'.

सादिभिः (sādibhiḥ) - by their riders (on the elephants) (by riders, by horsemen)

(noun)

Instrumental, masculine, plural of sādin

sādin - rider, horseman; one who sits on

From root √sad (to sit) with agent suffix '-in', referring to one who sits upon an animal.

Root: sad (class 1)

Note: The riders fell along with the elephants.