Shloka 21

Abhimanyu-śravaṇa-prastāva and Cakravyūha-vinyāsa

Prelude to Abhimanyu’s Account and the Wheel-Formation Deployment

Devanagari script

सौभद्र: पृथिवीपाल जहौ प्राणान्‌ परंतप: । वयं परमसंद्ृष्टा: पाण्डवा: शोककर्शिता: । सौभद्रे निहते राजन्नवहारमकुर्महि,भूपाल! शत्रुओंको संताप देनेवाले सुभद्राकुमारने जब प्राण त्याग दिये, उस समय हमलोगोंको बड़ा हर्ष हुआ और पाण्डव शोकसे व्याकुल हो गये। राजन! सुभद्रा-कुमारके मारे जानेपर हमलोगोंने युद्ध बंद कर दिया

Transliteration

saubhadraḥ pṛthivīpāla jahau prāṇān parantapaḥ | vayaṃ paramasaṃdṛṣṭāḥ pāṇḍavāḥ śokakarśitāḥ | saubhadre nihate rājann avahāram akurmahi bhūpāla ||

Translation

サञ्जयは言った。「大王よ、敵を灼くサウバドラが命を捨てたとき、我ら（陛下の側）は大いに昂ぶり、パーンダヴァたちは悲嘆に打ちひしがれた。地を治める王よ、サウバドラが討たれると、我らはしばし戦を止めた。」

Word by Word

• {'saubhadraḥ': 'the son of Subhadrā

• Abhimanyu', 'pṛthivīpāla / bhūpāla': 'protector of the earth

• king (address to Dhṛtarāṣṭra)', 'jahau prāṇān': 'gave up life

• died', 'parantapaḥ': 'scorcher of enemies

• a heroic epithet', 'vayam': 'we (the Kaurava side as reported by Sañjaya)', 'paramasaṃdṛṣṭāḥ': 'greatly delighted

• highly pleased', 'pāṇḍavāḥ': 'the sons of Pāṇḍu

• the Pāṇḍava party', 'śokakarśitāḥ': 'afflicted/tormented by grief', 'nihate': 'when slain

• upon being killed', 'rājan': 'O king', 'avahāram akurmahi': 'we made a cessation/withdrawal

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra
• Saubhadra (Abhimanyu)
• Pāṇḍavas
• Kaurava side (implied by 'we')

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the moral and psychological contrast in war: one side’s joy at an enemy’s fall mirrors the other side’s crushing grief, reminding the reader that battlefield ‘victory’ is inseparable from human suffering and ethical tension.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that Abhimanyu (Saubhadra) has died; the Kaurava camp feels elation, the Pāṇḍavas are overwhelmed with sorrow, and the Kauravas temporarily halt the fighting after his death.