Shloka 43

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 95 — Sātyaki’s Breakthrough and the Routing of Allied Contingents

Devanagari script

द्राविडास्तत्र युध्यन्ते मत्तमातड्भविक्रमा: । गोयोनिप्रभवा म्लेच्छा: कालकल्पा: प्रहारिण:,मतवाले हाथियोंके समान पराक्रमी द्राविड तथा नन्दिनी गायसे उत्पन्न हुए कालके समान प्रहारकुशल म्लेच्छ भी वहाँ युद्ध कर रहे थे

Transliteration

drāviḍās tatra yudhyante mattamātaṅgabhavikramāḥ | goyoniprabhavā mlecchāḥ kālakalpāḥ prahāriṇaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: There the Drāviḍas fought on, mighty in valor like intoxicated elephants; and the Mleccha warriors—said to be born of the cow Nandinī’s lineage—also fought there, striking like Time itself in their onslaught.

Word by Word

द्राविडाःDravidas (people of Dravida country)

तत्रthere

युध्यन्तेthey fight

मत्तमातङ्गविक्रमा:having the prowess of intoxicated elephants

गोयोनिप्रभवाःborn from the cow-womb (i.e., from a cow-lineage)

म्लेच्छाःMlecchas (foreign/uncultured tribes)

कालकल्पाःlike Time (Death)

प्रहारिणःstrikers; smiters; those who deal blows

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Drāviḍas

Mlecchas

Nandinī (the divine cow)

Kāla (Time/Death)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the overwhelming, impersonal force of war: diverse peoples are swept into combat, and their violence is likened to Kāla (Time/Death), suggesting that in battle human prowess often appears as an instrument of inexorable fate.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing the battlefield scene, noting that Drāviḍa warriors fight with elephant-like ferocity, and that Mleccha fighters—associated in tradition with Nandinī’s bovine lineage—are also present, delivering devastating blows.