Shloka 563

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

Devanagari script

यदेक॑ सहिता: पार्था न शेकुरतिवर्तितुम्‌ । उस समय हमलोगोंने आपके पुत्रका अद्भुत पराक्रम देखा कि कुन्तीके सभी पुत्र एक साथ प्रयत्न करनेपर भी उसे लाँधकर आगे न जा सके

Transliteration

yad eka-sahitāḥ pārthā na śekur ativartitum |

Translation

Sañjaya dit : Même lorsque les fils de Pṛthā (les Pāṇḍava) agirent d’un seul élan, ils ne purent le franchir. En cet instant, nous vîmes l’étonnante prouesse de ton fils : bien que tous les fils de Kuntī s’efforçassent ensemble, ils ne purent le dépasser pour aller de l’avant.

Word by Word

यत्which/that (fact that)

एकेtogether/as one (all as one group)

सहिताःunited, together

पार्थाःthe sons of Pṛthā (the Pāṇḍavas)

नnot

शेकुःwere able

अतिवर्तितुम्to pass beyond, to overstep

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by 'your son')

Pārthas / Pāṇḍavas

Kuntī

Kaurava prince (your son; unspecified in this half-verse)

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 extraordinary strength and resolve can momentarily check even a united force; ethically, it underscores the Mahābhārata’s sober recognition of martial excellence on both sides, without reducing the conflict to simple moral caricature.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Pāṇḍavas, though acting together, could not get past a single Kaurava champion—thus emphasizing the formidable resistance and the dramatic intensity of the battle scene.