Shloka 68

Śalya-hatānantarāṇi: Madrarāja-padānugānāṃ praskandana and the Pandava counter-encirclement (शल्यहतानन्तराणि—मद्रराजपदानुगानां प्रस्कन्दनम्)

Devanagari script

शल्यानुजं हतं दृष्टवा तावकास्त्यक्तजीविता:

Transliteration

śalyānujaṃ hataṃ dṛṣṭvā tāvakās tyaktajīvitāḥ

Translation

Sañjaya said: Seeing Śalya’s younger brother slain, the Kaurava warriors lost the will to live—struck by grief and the collapse of hope amid the carnage of war.

Word by Word

• शल्यानुजम्: the younger brother of Shalya
• शल्यानुजम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शल्यानुज
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• हतम्: slain
• हतम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: हन्
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular, Past passive participle (क्त)

• दृष्ट्वा: having seen
• Type: Verb
• Root: दृश्
• Form: Absolutive/Gerund (क्त्वा)

• तावकाः: your men; the Kauravas (your side)
• तावकाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: तावक
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• त्यक्तजीविताः: those who had abandoned life; as good as dead/despairing
• त्यक्तजीविताः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्यक्तजीवित
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural, Past passive participle (क्त) used adjectivally

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Śalya
• Śalya’s younger brother
• Kauravas (tāvakāḥ)
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by address 'your men')

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how attachment and sudden loss can shatter morale and judgment in war. It implicitly warns that reliance on kinship-pride and battlefield confidence is fragile; when key supports fall, despair can overtake even seasoned warriors, underscoring the ethical tragedy of fratricidal conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that, after Śalya’s younger brother is seen killed, the Kaurava side is overwhelmed by grief and hopelessness, their fighting spirit collapsing as the battle turns increasingly catastrophic.