Shloka 20

अध्याय ३: कृपस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति नीत्युपदेशः

Kṛpa’s Counsel to Duryodhana

Devanagari script

गजाश्वरथहीनास्तु पादाताश्चैव मारिष

Transliteration

gajāśvarathahīnāstu pādātāścaiva māriṣa

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O venerable one, they were bereft of elephants, horses, and chariots, and were reduced to fighting on foot.”

Word by Word

• गजाश्वरथहीनाः: devoid of elephants, horses, and chariots
• गजाश्वरथहीनाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: गज + अश्व + रथ + हीन
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• तु: but/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तु

• पादाताः: foot-soldiers, infantry
• पादाताः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पादात
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

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

• एव: only/just/indeed
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: एव

• मारिष: O noble one! (term of address)
• Type: Noun
• Root: मारिष
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• māriṣa (honorific addressee, typically Dhṛtarāṣṭra)
• elephants
• horses
• chariots
• foot-soldiers

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores the harsh ethical reality of war: as resources and elite arms are destroyed, combatants are forced into more vulnerable, direct struggle on foot—highlighting the escalating human cost and the stripping away of status and protection in prolonged conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the addressed elder that the fighters have lost their elephants, horses, and chariots, and are now fighting as infantry, indicating severe attrition and a turning point in battlefield capability.