Mahabharata 7.37.23 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 37, Shloka 23

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 37: Sañjaya’s Account of Abhimanyu’s Precision Disruption of a Chariot Contingent

Devanagari script

ततस्तस्मिन्‌ हते वीरे सौभद्रेणाश्मकेश्वरे

Transliteration

tatastasmīn hate vīre saubhadreṇāśmakeśvare

Translation

قال سنجيا: ثم لما قُتل ذلك السيد البطل من الأشمكة على يد ساوبهدرا، انحرف مجرى القتال تحت وطأة تلك السقطة الحاسمة.

Word by Word

• ततः: then/thereupon
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• तस्मिन्: in/when that (one/event)
• तस्मिन्: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: masculine/neuter, locative, singular

• हते: when (he) was slain
• हते: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हन्
• Form: masculine/neuter, locative, singular

• वीरे: in the hero
• वीरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीर
• Form: masculine, locative, singular

• सौभद्रेण: by the son of Subhadrā (Abhimanyu)
• सौभद्रेण: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सौभद्र
• Form: masculine, instrumental, singular

• अश्मकेश्वरे: in/when the lord of the Aśmakas
• अश्मकेश्वरे: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्मक-ईश्वर
• Form: masculine, locative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Saubhadra (Abhimanyu)
• Āśmaka-īśvara (lord of the Aśmakas)
• Aśmaka (people/kingdom)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the ethical and practical weight of leadership in dharmic warfare: the fall of a principal warrior is not merely personal loss but a moral and strategic turning point that reshapes collective resolve and responsibility.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Saubhadra (Abhimanyu) has slain the heroic ruler of the Aśmaka forces; this death serves as a pivot in the battle narrative, setting up the reactions and subsequent movements of the armies.