Shloka 55

Devanagari script

हत्वा श्रुतायुधं वीर॑ धरणीमन्वपद्यत । गदां निवर्तितां दृष्टवा निहतं च श्रुतायुधम्‌

Transliteration

hatvā śrutāyudhaṃ vīra dharaṇīm anvapadyata | gadāṃ nivartitāṃ dṛṣṭvā nihataṃ ca śrutāyudham ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Having slain the heroic Śrutāyudha, he fell down upon the earth. Seeing the mace turned back from its course and Śrutāyudha lying killed, the scene revealed the grim moral of battle: violence, once unleashed, can recoil upon its wielder, and even a valiant warrior is brought to the ground when the conditions of his weapon and conduct are violated.

Word by Word

• हत्वा: having slain
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन् (√हन्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund)

• श्रुतायुधम्: Śrutāyudha (name of a warrior)
• श्रुतायुधम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रुतायुध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• वीर: O hero
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• धरणीम्: the earth/ground
• धरणीम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: धरणी (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• अन्वपद्यत: fell down upon / sank down on
• Type: Verb
• Root: अनु + पद् (√पद्)
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• गदाम्: mace
• गदाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गदा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• निवर्तिताम्: turned back / repelled / withdrawn
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि + वृत् (√वृत्) / निवर्तित (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश् (√दृश्)
• Form: क्त्वान्त अव्यय (absolutive/gerund)

• निहतम्: slain
• Type: Adjective
• Root: नि + हन् (√हन्) / निहत (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular, क्त (past passive participle)

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

• श्रुतायुधम्: Śrutāyudha
• श्रुतायुधम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: श्रुतायुध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Śrutāyudha
• gadā (mace)
• dharaṇī (earth)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores a recurring Mahābhārata ethic: destructive force is unstable and can rebound upon its user. Even a brave warrior falls when the moral or conditional safeguards surrounding a weapon are breached; thus, dharma and restraint are portrayed as integral to power.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Śrutāyudha has been killed and has fallen to the ground. The narrator highlights that the mace has been turned back (as if recoiling), and Śrutāyudha is seen lying slain—marking the end of his combat episode.