Shloka 393

Devanagari script

रथानीकेन महता सर्वतः पर्यवारयत्‌ | तब युधिष्ठिरने राजा भगदत्तको अपने बाणोंसे घायल करके विशाल रथसेनाके द्वारा सब ओरसे घेर लिया

Transliteration

sañjaya uvāca |

rathānīkena mahatā sarvataḥ paryavārayat |

Translation

Sañjaya said: With a vast division of chariots, he hemmed him in on every side. Then King Yudhiṣṭhira, having wounded Bhagadatta with his arrows, surrounded him from all directions by means of a great chariot-host—an act of disciplined warfare aimed at restraining a formidable foe rather than mere cruelty.

Word by Word

• रथानीकेन: by/with a chariot-army (chariot-division)
• रथानीकेन: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथानीक
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• महतā: great, large
• महतā: Karana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental, Singular

• सर्वतः: on all sides, from every direction
• सर्वतः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: सर्वतः

• पर्यवारयत्: surrounded, enclosed
• पर्यवारयत्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: परि + अव + √वृ (वृणोति/वृ)
• Form: Imperfect (Lan), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Yudhiṣṭhira
• Bhagadatta
• chariot-division (rathānīka)
• arrows

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

Even amid war, action is expected to be purposeful and disciplined: a king uses organized force to neutralize a dangerous opponent, reflecting kṣatriya-dharma—protecting one’s side through strategy rather than uncontrolled aggression.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a warrior is encircled on all sides by a large chariot-formation; in the surrounding context, Yudhiṣṭhira wounds Bhagadatta with arrows and then has him hemmed in by a great chariot-host.