Shloka 59

Devanagari script

नचागाद्‌ द्वैरथं जिष्णुर्दिष्ट्या तेन महारणे

Transliteration

nacāgād dvairathaṃ jiṣṇur diṣṭyā tena mahāraṇe

Translation

Vyāsa said: By good fortune, Jiṣṇu (Arjuna) did not enter into a chariot-duel with him in that great battle—an outcome that spared the encounter from escalating into a decisive, potentially ruinous single-combat clash.

Word by Word

• na: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: na

• ca: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca

• agāt: went / proceeded
• Type: Verb
• Root: √gam
• Form: Luṅ (Aorist), 3, Singular, Parasmaipada

• dvairatham: chariot-duel, single combat (between two charioteers)
• dvairatham: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvairatha
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Singular

• jiṣṇuḥ: Jiṣṇu (Arjuna)
• jiṣṇuḥ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: jiṣṇu
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• diṣṭyā: by good fortune; fortunately
• diṣṭyā: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: diṣṭi
• Form: Feminine, Instrumental, Singular

• tena: by him/that; with him/that
• tena: Karana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: tad
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• mahāraṇe: in the great battle
• mahāraṇe: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: mahāraṇa
• Form: Neuter, Locative, Singular

Speaker

व्यास उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Vyāsa
• Arjuna (Jiṣṇu)
• mahāraṇa (the great battle of Kurukṣetra)
• dvairatha (chariot-duel)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even amid war, outcomes are shaped by a mix of human choice and providence; avoiding a direct duel can be seen as a fortunate restraint that prevents greater destruction and preserves broader strategic and ethical aims.

What is happening in the narrative?

Vyāsa comments that Arjuna did not engage in a one-on-one chariot duel with a particular opponent during the great battle, and he frames this non-engagement as a fortunate turn of events.