Shloka 51

Devanagari script

जघान द्रुपदानीके रथान्‌ सप्त महारथ: । तत: किलकिलाशब्द: क्षणेन समभूत्‌ तदा

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | jaghāna drupadānīke rathān sapta mahārathaḥ | tataḥ kilakilāśabdaḥ kṣaṇena samabhūt tadā ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Le grand guerrier de char abattit sept chars dans la division de Drupada. Alors, à cet instant même, un tumulte retentissant s’éleva sur le champ de bataille—une explosion de cris de guerre, signe du brusque retournement de la fortune au milieu du fracas des armes.

Word by Word

जघानslew/struck down

द्रुपदof Drupada

अनीकेin the army/host

रथान्chariots

सप्तseven

महारथःthe great chariot-warrior

ततःthen/thereupon

किलindeed/it is said

किलकिलाशब्दःa loud clamor/war-cry

क्षणेनin an instant/within a moment

समभूत्arose/occurred

तदाat that time

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Drupada

Drupada’s army/division (Drupadānīka)

seven chariots (rathāḥ)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how swiftly actions in war produce immediate collective consequences: a single elite warrior’s decisive strike changes the emotional and tactical atmosphere, erupting into clamour. Ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s recurring tension—kṣatriya prowess and duty on one side, and the heavy cost of violence on the other.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a great warrior destroys seven chariots within Drupada’s battle-array. Immediately afterward, a loud uproar (kilakilā) rises—signaling shock, alarm, or rallying cries among the troops as the battle’s intensity spikes.