Shloka 416

Devanagari script

प्रायशो विमुखं सर्व नावतिष्ठत भारत । धनुर्धर पाण्डुकुमारकी मार खाकर आपकी वह सारी सेना प्रायः पीठ दिखाकर भाग चली। वहाँ क्षणभरके लिये भी ठहर न सकी

Transliteration

prāyaśo vimukhaṃ sarvaṃ nāvatiṣṭhata bhārata | dhanurdhara-pāṇḍu-kumāra-kī mār khākar āpākī vah sārī senā prāyaḥ pīṭha dikhākar bhāga calī | vahā̃ kṣaṇabhar ke liye bhī ṭhahar na sakī |

Translation

Sañjaya said: “O Bhārata, almost the entire host turned away and could not hold its ground. Struck down by the bowmen among the sons of Pāṇḍu, your whole army for the most part showed its back and fled, unable to stand there even for a moment.”

Word by Word

• प्रायशः: mostly, for the most part
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: प्रायशस्
• Form: Avyaya (indeclinable adverb)

• विमुखम्: turned away; facing away
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विमुख
• Form: Neuter, accusative, singular (used adverbially)

• सर्वा: entire, all
• सर्वा: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सर्व
• Form: Feminine, nominative, singular

• न: not
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: न
• Form: Negation particle

• अवतिष्ठत: stood; remained
• Type: Verb
• Root: स्था (अव-स्था)
• Form: Imperfect (लङ्), Parasmaipada, 3rd person, singular

• भारत: O Bharata
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: Masculine, vocative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (addressed as Bhārata)
• Pāṇḍavas (sons of Pāṇḍu)
• Kaurava army (your army)
• Archers (dhanurdharas)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a battlefield ethic central to kṣatriya-dharma: steadiness under pressure. When discipline and morale collapse, even a large force becomes ineffective; courage and cohesion are portrayed as decisive moral and strategic qualities.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that the Kaurava host, struck by the Pāṇḍavas’ archers, largely turns its back and flees, unable to hold position even briefly—signaling a sudden shift in momentum on the field.