Shloka 17

Devanagari script

गजाश्वरथसंयुक्तो वृतश्चवैव पदातिभि: । दुर्योधनो महाराज प्रायात्‌ तत्र महारथ:,महाराज! हाथी, घोड़े और रथोंकी सेनासे युक्त तथा पैदल सैनिकोंसे घिरा हुआ महारथी दुर्योधन भी रणभूमिसे भाग चला

Transliteration

gajāśvarathasaṃyukto vṛtaś caiva padātibhiḥ | duryodhano mahārāja prāyāt tatra mahārathaḥ ||

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Ô grand roi, Duryodhana, le grand guerrier de char, s’éloigna lui aussi de là, appuyé par des forces d’éléphants, de chevaux et de chars, et entouré de fantassins.

Word by Word

गजाश्वरथसंयुक्तःjoined with elephants, horses, and chariots

वृतःsurrounded

चand

एवindeed/just

पदातिभिःby foot-soldiers

दुर्योधनःDuryodhana

महाराजO great king

प्रायात्went forth / departed

तत्रthere

महारथःthe great chariot-warrior

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Duryodhana

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'mahārāja')

elephants

horses

chariots

infantry

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 the dependence of even a king and 'mahāratha' on collective military support; in war, authority and personal prowess function within the protection, organization, and solidarity of one’s forces—raising an implicit ethical contrast between personal ambition and the shared cost borne by many.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to the king that Duryodhana proceeds on the battlefield, accompanied by a combined contingent of elephants, horses, and chariots, and encircled by infantry—indicating a guarded movement amid ongoing combat.