Shloka 52

Devanagari script

यदा न गम्यते पारं तयोरन्यतरस्य वा । ततः संकुलयुद्धेन तद्‌ युद्ध व्याकुलीकृतम्‌,जब द्रोणाचार्य और अर्जुनमेंसे कोई भी किसीको परास्त न कर सका, तब सामूहिक युद्धके द्वारा उस संग्रामको व्यापक बना दिया गया

Transliteration

yadā na gamyate pāraṃ tayor anyatarasya vā | tataḥ saṅkulayuddhena tad yuddhaṃ vyākulīkṛtam ||

Translation

サンジャヤは言った。ドローナ師とアルジュナのいずれもが「彼岸」に至れず――すなわち相手を決定的に屈せしめることができなかったとき、戦は入り乱れた集団戦によって混迷し、さらに広がっていった。

Word by Word

यदाwhen

नnot

गम्यतेis reached / is attained

पारम्the far shore; the end/limit

तयोःof the two (of them)

अन्यतरस्यof either one (of the two)

वाor

ततःthen; thereafter

संकुलयुद्धेनby a confused/mixed battle (general melee)

तत्that (battle)

युद्धम्battle

व्याकुलीकृतम्made agitated/confused; thrown into turmoil

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Droṇācārya

Arjuna

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

A duel between equals can fail to yield a decisive outcome; when that happens, the struggle often expands into a chaotic mass-conflict, increasing collateral harm and moral complexity. The verse implicitly warns how unresolved rivalry can destabilize the wider field of dharma in war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that Droṇa and Arjuna could not defeat one another. Because neither gained a clear advantage, the fighting shifted into a confused, collective mêlée, making the battlefield more turbulent and widespread.