Shloka 53

Devanagari script

नाज्ञायत ततः किंचित्‌ पुनरेव विशाम्पते । प्रवृत्ते तुमुले युद्धे द्रोणपाण्डवरयोर्मुथे,प्रजानाथ! रणभूमिमें द्रोणाचार्य और अर्जुनमें घमासान युद्ध छिड़ जानेपर फिर किसीको कुछ सूझ नहीं रहा था

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca | nājñāyata tataḥ kiñcit punar eva viśāmpate | pravṛtte tumule yuddhe droṇa-pāṇḍavayor mṛdhe prajānātha |

Translation

Sañjaya said: O lord of the people, O ruler of men, once that fierce battle between Droṇa and the Pāṇḍava (Arjuna) had erupted, nothing could be clearly discerned again—amid the tumult, perception and judgment were overwhelmed by the violence of war.

Word by Word

नnot

अज्ञायतwas known/was understood

ततःthen/thereafter

किंचित्anything, something (even a little)

पुनःagain

एवindeed/just

विशाम्पतेO lord of the people (king)

प्रवृत्तेwhen (it) had begun/was underway

तुमुलेin the tumultuous (one)

युद्धेin the battle

द्रोणपाण्डवरयोःof Drona and the Pandava (Arjuna)

मुथेin the encounter/close fight

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra

Droṇācārya (Droṇa)

Pāṇḍava (Arjuna implied)

raṇabhūmi (battlefield)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse underscores how, once violence escalates into a full-scale clash, clarity and discernment collapse; war generates confusion that obscures truth and makes ethical judgment difficult, even for observers.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a fierce, tumultuous duel has broken out between Droṇa and the Pāṇḍava side (specifically Arjuna), and the battlefield has become so chaotic that nothing can be clearly made out.