Shloka 154

Devanagari script

संजय उवाच एवमुकक्‍्त्वार्जुनं संख्ये पराशरसुतस्तदा । जगाम भरतश्रेष्ठ यथागतमरिंदम,संजय कहते हैं--शत्रुओंका दमन करने-वाले भरतश्रेष्ठ! युद्धस्थलमें अर्जुनसे ऐसा कहकर पराशरनन्दन व्यासजी जैसे आये थे, वैसे चले गये

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca evam uktvārjunaṃ saṅkhye parāśarasutas tadā | jagāma bharataśreṣṭha yathāgatam arindama ||

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Nachdem Parāśaras Sohn (Vyāsa) Arjuna so auf dem Schlachtfeld angesprochen hatte, ging er fort, o Bester der Bhāratas, Bezwinger der Feinde, und kehrte auf demselben Weg zurück, auf dem er gekommen war.

Word by Word

संजयःSanjaya

उवाचsaid

एवम्thus

उक्त्वाhaving said

अर्जुनम्Arjuna

संख्येin battle

पराशर-सुतःthe son of Parāśara (Vyāsa)

तदाthen

जगामwent

भरत-श्रेष्ठO best of the Bharatas

यथाas, just as

आगतम्come/arrived (as he had come)

अरिंदमO subduer of enemies

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sanjaya

Arjuna

Vyasa (Parashara’s son)

Bharata lineage (Bharatashreshtha as an epithet)

Dhritarashtra (implied addressee through epithets)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the role of timely, authoritative counsel in a dharmic crisis: a sage may instruct, but the responsibility to choose and act rightly in war rests with the warrior. It also signals that spiritual guidance does not replace human agency; it prepares it.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports to Dhritarashtra that Vyasa, after speaking to Arjuna in the midst of battle, departs exactly as he arrived. The line functions as a narrative closure to Vyasa’s intervention and returns the focus to the unfolding combat and Arjuna’s next actions.