Mahabharata 9.3.26 — Shalya Parva, Adhyaya 3, Shloka 26

अध्याय ३: कृपस्य दुर्योधनं प्रति नीत्युपदेशः

Kṛpa’s Counsel to Duryodhana

Devanagari script

पदातयो हि संरब्धास्त्यक्तजीवितबान्धवा:

Transliteration

padātayo hi saṃrabdhās tyaktajīvitabāndhavāḥ

Translation

സഞ്ജയൻ പറഞ്ഞു—പദാതികൾ ഉഗ്രാവേശത്തിൽ ജ്വലിച്ചു; സ്വന്തം ജീവനും ബന്ധുക്കളുമെന്ന ചിന്ത ഉപേക്ഷിച്ച്, എല്ലാം പണയം വെച്ച് അവർ യുദ്ധത്തിലേക്ക് ചാടിപ്പാഞ്ഞു।

Word by Word

• पदातयः: foot-soldiers, infantrymen
• पदातयः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पदाति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• हि: indeed, for
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: हि

• संरब्धाः: enraged, impetuous
• संरब्धाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: संरब्ध
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

• त्यक्तजीवितबान्धवाः: those who have abandoned (care for) life and kinsmen
• त्यक्तजीवितबान्धवाः: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्यक्तजीवितबान्धव
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line highlights how war can drive people into a state where ordinary human bonds—self-preservation and family attachment—are overridden by rage and battlefield compulsion, underscoring the ethical tragedy and dehumanizing momentum of conflict.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya describes the condition of the infantry on the battlefield: they are intensely aroused and reckless, fighting as if they have already renounced both their own lives and concern for their relatives.