Shloka 523

Devanagari script

अभिसंहत्य कौन्तेय पदातिप्रयुतानि च । 'युद्धविषयक श्रेष्ठ बुद्धिका आश्रय लेकर तुम रथयूथपति कर्णपर चढ़ाई करो। रथियोंमें श्रेष्ठ वीर! देखो, समरभूमिमें ये प्रचण्ड तेजस्वी, महाबली एवं मुख्य-मुख्य पाँच सौ रथी आ रहे हैं। इनके साथ ही पाँच हजार हाथी और दस हजार घोड़े हैं। कुन्तीनन्दन! ये सब-के- सब संगठित हो दस लाख पैदल योद्धाओंको साथ ले आ रहे हैं

Transliteration

abhisaṁhatya kaunteya padātiprayutāni ca | yuddhaviṣayakaśreṣṭhabuddhikām āśritya tvaṁ rathayūthapatiṁ karṇeparaṁ caḍhāī karo | rathīnāṁ śreṣṭha vīra paśya samarabhūmau ime pracaṇḍatejasvinaḥ mahābalinaḥ ca mukhya-mukhyāḥ pañcaśataṁ rathinaḥ āyānti | ebhiḥ sārdhaṁ pañcasahasraṁ hastinaḥ daśasahasraṁ aśvāḥ ca | kuntīnandana ete sarve saṅghaṭitāḥ daśalakṣaṁ padātīn saha ānayanti ||

Translation

Sañjaya berkata: “Wahai putera Kuntī, setelah engkau menghimpunkan infantri dalam formasi yang rapat, berpeganglah pada nasihat perang yang terbaik lalu lancarkan serangan ke atas Karṇa, ketua pasukan skuadron kereta perang. Wahai pahlawan terunggul antara para pejuang kereta, lihatlah—di medan laga mara lima ratus pejuang kereta utama, menyala gagah dan maha perkasa. Bersama mereka datang lima ribu gajah dan sepuluh ribu kuda. Wahai putera Kuntī, semuanya bersatu dan tersusun rapi, membawa bersama mereka sejuta tentera berjalan kaki.”

Word by Word

• अभिसंहत्य: having gathered/assembled
• अभिसंहत्य: Karana
• Type: Verb
• Root: अभि-सम्-हन्
• Form: क्त्वान्त (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपद-भावार्थ

• कौन्तेय: O son of Kuntī
• कौन्तेय: Sampradana
• Type: Noun
• Root: कौन्तेय
• Form: Masculine, Vocative, Singular

• पदाति-प्रयुतानि: tens of thousands of foot-soldiers
• पदाति-प्रयुतानि: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पदाति + प्रयुत
• Form: Neuter, Accusative, Plural

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Kaunteya (Arjuna)
• Karṇa
• ratha (chariots)
• rathin (chariot-warriors)
• samarabhūmi (battlefield)
• hastin (war-elephants)
• aśva (horses)
• padāti (infantry)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The passage highlights the ethical demand of kṣatriya-dharma in war: act with disciplined organization and clear strategic intelligence rather than panic. Even amid overwhelming numbers, the warrior is urged to rely on sound counsel and purposeful leadership.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a massive, well-organized force is advancing on the battlefield. He urges the son of Kuntī (Arjuna) to form the infantry tightly and to launch an assault against Karṇa, while enumerating the approaching charioteers, elephants, horses, and foot-soldiers.