Shloka 203

Devanagari script

पज्चविंशतिसाहस्रा: प्राद्रवनू शनकैरिव । माननीय नरेश! उस समय हाथी, घोड़े और रथोंसे रहित पचीस हजार पैदल सैनिक धीरे-ही-धीरे पाण्डवोंपर चढ़ाई करने लगे

Transliteration

pañcaviṁśatisāhasrāḥ prādravanū śanakair iva | mānanīya nareśa! tadā hastī-aśva-ratha-rahitāḥ pañcaviṁśati-sahasrāḥ padātayaḥ śanaiḥ-śanaiḥ pāṇḍavān abhyadravan |

Translation

ສັນຊະຍະກ່າວວ່າ: ໂອ ພະຣາຊາຜູ້ຄວນເຄົາລົບ! ໃນເວລານັ້ນ ທະຫານຍ່າງຕີນຈໍານວນສອງໝື່ນຫ້າພັນ—ບໍ່ມີຊ້າງ ບໍ່ມີມ້າ ບໍ່ມີລົດຮົບ—ໄດ້ເຄື່ອນທັບເຂົ້າໃສ່ພານດະວະ ຢ່າງຊ້າໆ ແລະມັ່ນຄົງ.

Word by Word

पञ्चविंशतिसाहस्राःtwenty-five-thousand (in number)

प्राद्रवन्ran forth / advanced

उand / indeed (emphatic particle)

शनकैःslowly, gradually

इवas if / like

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

nareśa (Dhṛtarāṣṭra, implied addressee)

Pāṇḍavas

infantry (padātayaḥ)

elephants

horses

chariots

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?

The verse highlights the stark reality of war: even when deprived of major war-assets (elephants, horses, chariots), soldiers still press forward. Ethically, it underscores the relentless momentum of kṣatriya warfare and the human cost—men advancing on foot into danger, driven by duty, command, or circumstance.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to King Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a force of twenty-five thousand infantry, lacking mounted and chariot support, begins a measured advance against the Pāṇḍavas, indicating a coordinated movement rather than a sudden, chaotic rush.