Mahabharata — Shalya Parva, Shloka 61

Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)

Devanagari script

ततः: शल्ये निपतिते मद्रराजानुजो युवा

Transliteration

tataḥ śalye nipatite madrarājānujo yuvā

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then, when Śalya had fallen, the young brother of the king of Madra (Śalya) came forward—signaling the next turn in the battle’s grim succession, where kinship and duty drive warriors to step into the place of the slain.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात् अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय (indeclinable)

• शल्ये: when/with Shalya (in Shalya)
• शल्ये: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: शल्य (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन

• निपतिते: having fallen (when he had fallen)
• निपतिते: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि√पत् (धातु) → निपतित (कृदन्त)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी, एकवचन (सप्तमी-सम्बन्ध/सप्तमी-absolute)

• मद्रराजानुजः: the younger brother of the king of Madra
• मद्रराजानुजः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: मद्रराज + अनुज (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

• युवा: young
• युवा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: युवन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा, एकवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Śalya
• Madrarāja (king of Madra)
• Śalya’s younger brother (unnamed here)
• Madra (kingdom)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the kṣatriya-world’s harsh ethic: when a leader falls, duty and clan loyalty compel another—often a close relative—to step forward, showing how war turns familial bonds into obligations that perpetuate violence.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Śalya has fallen in battle, and immediately a young man—identified as the younger brother of the Madra king (Śalya)—moves into the foreground, indicating the next combatant’s emergence after Śalya’s defeat.