Mahabharata 7.116.17 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 116, Shloka 17

Śaineya’s Breakthrough and Reunion with Arjuna (शैनेयस्य समागमः)

Devanagari script

तत्र शेषं न पश्यामि प्रविष्टे सव्यसाचिनि । सात्वते च रथोदारे मम सैन्यस्य संजय

Transliteration

tatra śeṣaṃ na paśyāmi praviṣṭe savyasācini | sātvate ca rathodāre mama sainyasya saṃjaya ||

Translation

Sañjaya dijo: «En esta coyuntura, oh Saṃjaya, no veo resto alguno—ningún remanente que sobreviva—de mi ejército, ahora que Arjuna Savyasācin se ha abierto paso, y también ha entrado el noble guerrero sātvata en su espléndido carro. Su irrupción no anuncia sólo una pérdida táctica, sino el derrumbe de la esperanza y del orden en la batalla: cuando el valor y la destreza se desatan, pueden arrollar incluso a una hueste inmensa.»

Word by Word

• तत्र: there
• तत्र: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: तत्र
• Form: indeclinable (locative adverb)

• शेषम्: remainder; what is left
• शेषम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शेष
• Form: masculine/neuter; accusative singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न
• Form: negation particle

• पश्यामि: I see
• Type: Verb
• Root: √पश् (दृश्-अर्थे)
• Form: present; parasmaipada; 1st person; singular

• प्रविष्टे: when (he/it) has entered; upon entry
• प्रविष्टे: Adhikarana
• Type: Verb
• Root: प्र-√विश्
• Form: past passive participle; locative singular (masculine/neuter)

• सव्यसाचिनि: in Savyasācin (Arjuna)
• सव्यसाचिनि: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सव्यसाचिन्
• Form: masculine; locative singular

• सात्वते: in the Sātvata (Yādava) warrior
• सात्वते: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सात्वत
• Form: masculine; locative singular

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च
• Form: conjunction

• रथोदारे: in the noble chariot-warrior
• रथोदारे: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: रथ-उदार
• Form: masculine; locative singular

• मम: my
• मम: Sambandha
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अस्मद्
• Form: genitive singular

• सैन्यस्य: of the army
• सैन्यस्य: Sambandha
• Type: Noun
• Root: सैन्य
• Form: neuter; genitive singular

• संजय: O Sañjaya
• संजय: Sambodhana
• Type: Noun
• Root: संजय
• Form: masculine; vocative singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Saṃjaya (addressed person, Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s charioteer)
• Savyasācin (Arjuna)
• Sātvata (Yuyudhāna/Sātyaki)
• ratha (chariot)
• Kaurava army (mama sainya)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how, in war, a decisive breach by exceptional warriors can shatter not only formations but morale and hope. It also reflects the ethical tension of kṣatriya-dharma: valor and duty drive the heroes forward, while the opposing side confronts the consequences of strategic and moral decline.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports that Arjuna (Savyasācin) and the Sātvata hero Sātyaki (Yuyudhāna), having broken into the Kaurava host, have penetrated deep enough that Sanjaya foresees no ‘śeṣa’—no remaining strength or survivors—of the army. It is a moment of alarm and impending rout.