Shloka 39

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

Devanagari script

गजाश्वरथिभिहीनास्त्यक्तात्मान: पदातय: । एकविंशतिसाहस्रा: संयुगायावतस्थिरे,उस समय वहाँ हाथीसवार, घुड़सवार तथा रथियोंसे रहित इक्कीस हजार केवल पैदल योद्धा अपने जीवनका मोह छोड़कर युद्धके लिये डट गये

Transliteration

gajāśvarathibhihīnāstyaktātmānaḥ padātayaḥ | ekaviṃśatisāhasrāḥ saṃyugāyāvatastire ||

Translation

Sañjaya said: Deprived of elephant-riders, horsemen, and chariot-warriors, twenty-one thousand foot-soldiers—having cast aside attachment to their own lives—stood firm, resolved for battle.

Word by Word

• गज: elephant
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (in compound stem), Singular (stem)

• अश्व: horse
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (in compound stem), Singular (stem)

• रथि: chariot-warrior
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथि
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (in compound stem), Singular (stem)

• भिः: by/with
• भिः: Karana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: भिस् (तृतीया-बहुवचन-प्रत्ययः)
• Form: Instrumental, Plural

• हीनाः: devoid of
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हीन (√हा/ही + क्त, 'deprived')
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• त्यक्त: having abandoned
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्यक्त (√त्यज् + क्त)
• Form: Masculine (in compound stem), Nominative (in compound stem), Singular (stem)

• आत्मानः: selves/lives
• आत्मानः: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: आत्मन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• पदातयः: foot-soldiers
• पदातयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पदाति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• एकविंशति: twenty-one
• Type: Noun (Numeral)
• Root: एकविंशति
• Form: Feminine, Nominative (in compound stem), Singular (stem)

• साहस्राः: thousands
• साहस्राः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: साहस्र (from सहस्र)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• संयुगाय: for battle
• संयुगाय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संयुग
• Form: Neuter, Dative, Singular

• अवतस्थिरे: stood firm/remained stationed
• Type: Verb
• Root: √स्था (ava + √स्था)
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Plural, Parasmaipada

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• संजय (Sañjaya)
• गज (elephants)
• अश्व (horses)
• रथिन् (chariot-warriors)
• पदाति (infantry/foot-soldiers)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights steadfastness under deprivation: even without elite arms (elephants, horses, chariots), warriors may uphold their chosen duty by relinquishing fear and attachment to life, standing firm for the battle they have accepted.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a force of twenty-one thousand infantry, lacking mounted and chariot support, nevertheless takes its position and remains ready to fight, indicating a desperate yet determined battlefield formation.