Shloka 42

Nakula’s Engagement with Citra-sena and Karṇa’s Sons; Śalya Re-stabilizes the Kaurava Host

Devanagari script

ततो न्यवर्तत बल॑ तावकं भरतर्षभ । शरै: प्रणुन्नं बहुधा पाण्डवैर्जितकाशिभि:

Transliteration

tato nyavartata balaṁ tāvakaṁ bharatarṣabha | śaraiḥ praṇunnaṁ bahudhā pāṇḍavair jitakāśibhiḥ ||

Translation

Da wandte sich, o Stier unter den Bhāratas, das kauravische Heer zurück, immer wieder durch Pfeilsalven der Pāṇḍavas — berühmt dafür, Kāśī bezwungen zu haben — zurückgedrängt und aufgehalten.

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

न्यवर्ततturned back, retreated

बलम्army, force

तावकम्your (i.e., Kaurava) [army]

भरतर्षभO bull among the Bharatas

शरैःwith arrows

प्रणुन्नम्driven back, struck/pressed

बहुधाin many ways, repeatedly

पाण्डवैःby the Pandavas

जितकाशिभिःby those who had conquered Kashi

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by tāvakam and address)

Bharatas (dynastic epithet)

Kaurava army (tāvaka bala)

Pāṇḍavas

Kāśī

arrows (śara)

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?

In the ethics of kṣatriya warfare, numerical strength alone does not secure victory; disciplined valor, skillful archery, and steadfast resistance can reverse an army’s momentum. The verse highlights how morale and tactical pressure can compel withdrawal.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava forces turned back/retreated because they were repeatedly struck and driven by the Pāṇḍavas’ arrows; the Pāṇḍavas are described with the epithet ‘conquerors of Kāśī.’