Shloka 453

Bhagadatta’s Advance, the Saṃśaptaka Challenge, and Arjuna’s Counterstrike (द्रोणपर्व, अध्याय २६)

Devanagari script

निश्चक्राम ततः सर्वान्‌ परिचिक्षेप पार्थिवान्‌ इसी बीचमें अवसर पाकर वह गजराज बड़ी उतावलीके साथ रथोंके घेरेसे पार निकल गया और समस्त राजाओंको उठा-उठाकर फेंकने लगा

Transliteration

niścakrāma tataḥ sarvān paricikṣepa pārthivān

Translation

Sañjaya said: Then the great elephant, seizing the moment, broke out from the encircling line of chariots and began to lift up and hurl down the kings on every side.

Word by Word

• निश्चक्राम: went out, came forth
• निश्चक्राम: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-√क्रम्
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), 3, Singular, परस्मैपद

• ततः: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• सर्वान्: all
• सर्वान्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• परिचिक्षेप: threw around, hurled
• परिचिक्षेप: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि-√क्षिप्
• Form: लिट् (Perfect), 3, Singular, परस्मैपद

• पार्थिवान्: kings, rulers
• पार्थिवान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थिव
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• gajarāja (great elephant)
• ratha (chariots)
• pārthivāḥ (kings)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how, in war, worldly rank (being a 'pārthiva', a king) offers no inherent protection when violence is unleashed; it implicitly warns that adharma-driven conflict reduces even rulers to vulnerable bodies amid chaos.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a powerful elephant finds an opening, escapes the surrounding chariots, and rampages through the battlefield, lifting and flinging kings—depicting a sudden collapse of formation and control.