Mahabharata 7.161.21 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 161, Shloka 21

अजिशीर्षे प्रातःसंध्यायां संग्रामवर्णनम् / Dawn-Transition Battle at Ajiśīrṣa

Chapter 161

Devanagari script

ततः प्रववृते युद्ध कर्णस्य सह पाण्डवै:

Transliteration

tataḥ pravavṛte yuddhaṁ karṇasya saha pāṇḍavaiḥ

Translation

তারপর কর্ণের সঙ্গে পাণ্ডবদের ঘোর যুদ্ধ শুরু হল।

Word by Word

• ततः: then/thereupon
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततस्
• Form: Avyaya (ablatival adverb: 'from/then')

• प्रववृते: arose/began/ensued
• प्रववृते: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र + √वृत् (वर्तते)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person singular, Ātmanepada

• युद्धम्: battle/war
• युद्धम्: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: युद्ध
• Form: Neuter, nominative singular (as subject with 'प्रववृते')

• कर्णस्य: of Karna
• कर्णस्य: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कर्ण
• Form: Masculine, genitive singular

• सह: together with
• सह: Karana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सह
• Form: Avyaya (takes instrumental)

• पाण्डवैः: with the Pandavas
• पाण्डवैः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव
• Form: Masculine, instrumental plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Karna
• Pāṇḍavas

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the epic’s ethical tension: war is not merely violence but a field where kṣatriya-duty, personal vows, and destiny converge. The narrative framing reminds the listener that individual clashes (Karna vs. the Pāṇḍavas) carry wider moral and historical consequences.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that the fighting now turns into a direct engagement between Karna and the Pāṇḍavas—an escalation toward a pivotal confrontation within the Drona Parva’s war sequence.