Shloka 39

Devanagari script

द्रवद्धिस्तैर्महानागै: समन्ताद भरतर्षभ । दुर्योधनबलं सर्व पुनरासीत्‌ पराड्मुखम्‌,भरतश्रेष्ठी] सब ओर भागते हुए उन महान्‌ गजराजोंके साथ ही दुर्योधनकी सारी सेना युद्धभूमिसे विमुख हो चली

Transliteration

dravadbhis tair mahānāgaiḥ samantād bharatarṣabha | duryodhana-balaṃ sarvaṃ punar āsīt parāṅmukham ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai banteng di antara kaum Bharata, ketika gajah-gajah perkasa itu lari bertempiaran di segenap sisi, seluruh bala tentera Duryodhana sekali lagi berpaling dari medan perang, hilang muka dan hilang tekad.”

Word by Word

द्रवत्running, fleeing

हस्तैःwith elephants (lit. with hands/trunks)

तैःby/with those

महानागैःwith great elephants

समन्तात्from all sides / on all sides

भरतर्षभO bull among the Bharatas

दुर्योधनबलम्Duryodhana's army/force

सर्वम्all, entire

पुनःagain

आसीत्was, became

पराङ्मुखम्turned away, facing away (in retreat)

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by address: bharatarṣabha)

Duryodhana

mahānāga (war-elephants)

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 how quickly an army’s dhairya (steadfastness) can collapse when key supports—here, the war-elephants—panic and flee. In the ethical frame of kṣatriya-dharma, turning parāṅmukha (away from battle) signals a loss of resolve and leadership control, showing that victory depends not only on strength but on disciplined morale.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that as the great elephants ran off in disorder on all sides, Duryodhana’s entire force again became parāṅmukha—turning away from the fight and effectively retreating from the battlefield.