Shloka 48

Devanagari script

निवार्य सेनां महतीं हत्वा शूरांश्व पार्थिवान्‌

Transliteration

nivārya senāṃ mahatīṃ hatvā śūrāṃś ca pārthivān

Translation

Disse Sañjaya: Tendo contido o vasto exército e abatido reis valentes, ele prosseguiu o curso da batalha—imagem do ímpeto sombrio da guerra, em que a contenção tática e a força letal caminham lado a lado, elevando a tensão entre o dever no combate e o preço em vidas.

Word by Word

• निवार्य: having restrained / after checking
• Type: Verb
• Root: नि-√वृ (वारयति)
• Form: ल्यप् (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपद-प्रयोगार्थ (क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण)

• सेनाम्: army
• सेनाम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: सेना
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• महतीम्: great, huge
• महतीम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: महत्
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

• हत्वा: having slain / after killing
• Type: Verb
• Root: √हन्
• Form: क्त्वा (absolutive/gerund), परस्मैपद-प्रयोगार्थ (क्रियाविशेषणरूपेण)

• शूरान्: heroes, brave men
• शूरान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: शूर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

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

• पार्थिवान्: kings, rulers
• पार्थिवान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: पार्थिव
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• senā (army)
• pārthivāḥ (kings/rulers)
• śūrāḥ (heroic warriors)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line juxtaposes restraint (nivārya) with killing (hatvā), highlighting a central Mahābhārata tension: even when war is undertaken as a duty, ethical weight remains—discipline and strategy do not erase the human cost, and ‘dharma in battle’ is morally complex rather than triumphalist.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports a battlefield episode in which a warrior (implied from context) first checks a large opposing force and then slays heroic kings—describing both tactical control over the enemy’s advance and the ensuing lethal engagement among rulers and champions.