Mahabharata 7.198.16 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 198, Shloka 16

Devanagari script

विशस्त्रकवचाश्षान्ये वाहनेभ्य: क्षितिं गता:

Transliteration

viśastrakavacāś cānye vāhanebhyaḥ kṣitiṃ gatāḥ

Translation

മറ്റുള്ളവരും—ആയുധവും കവചവും നഷ്ടപ്പെട്ടവർ—വാഹനങ്ങളിൽ നിന്ന് വീണ് ഭൂമിയിലേക്കു പതിച്ചു।

Word by Word

• विशस्त्रकवचाः: deprived of weapons and armor
• विशस्त्रकवचाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विशस्त्रकवच
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• अन्ये: others
• अन्ये: Karta
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: अन्य
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• वाहनेभ्यः: from the vehicles (chariots)
• वाहनेभ्यः: Apadana
• Type: Noun
• Root: वाहन
• Form: Neuter, Ablative, Plural

• क्षितिम्: to the ground
• क्षितिम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: क्षिति
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• गताः: went / fell
• गताः: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: गम्
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural, क्त (past passive participle)

Speaker

युधिछिर उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Yudhiṣṭhira
• weapons (śastra)
• armor (kavaca)
• mounts/vehicles (vāhana)
• earth/ground (kṣiti)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the vulnerability that remains when external supports—weapons, armor, and the power of one’s mount—are lost, pointing to the ethical gravity of war and the swift collapse of worldly security.

What is happening in the narrative?

Yudhiṣṭhira describes a battlefield moment where many combatants, having lost weapons and armor, tumble down from their mounts/vehicles and fall to the ground, emphasizing widespread disarray and defeat.