Shloka 46

Śālva’s Elephant Assault and the Counterstroke (शाल्वस्य नागारूढाभ्यवहारः)

Devanagari script

ते तु क्ुद्धा महाराज पाण्डवस्य महारथम्‌

Transliteration

te tu kruddhā mahārāja pāṇḍavasya mahāratham

Translation

Sañjaya sprach: Doch sie, von Zorn entbrannt, o großer König, richteten ihre Aufmerksamkeit auf den großen Wagenkämpfer der Pāṇḍavas—denn der Zorn trieb nun ihren Entschluss inmitten des moralischen Verfalls der Schlacht.

Word by Word

• ते: they (those)
• ते: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: तद्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• क्रुद्धाः: angered
• क्रुद्धाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: क्रुद्ध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• महाराज: O great king
• Type: Noun
• Root: महाराज
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• पाण्डवस्य: of the Pandava
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाण्डव
• Form: Masculine, Genitive, Singular

• महारथम्: the great chariot-warrior
• महारथम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: महारथ
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Pāṇḍava (side)
• mahāratha (great chariot-warrior)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line highlights how anger (krodha) redirects judgment in war: even great warriors become driven by passion rather than discernment, intensifying violence and obscuring dharma.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that certain fighters, now enraged, focus their attack or attention on a foremost Pāṇḍava chariot-warrior, signaling an escalation in the combat.