Shloka 52

Devanagari script

माद्रीपुत्र नकुलने आपके पुत्र दुर्योधनको दाहिने कर दिया और हर्षमें भरकर उसपर सैकड़ों बाणोंकी झड़ी लगा दी; फिर तो वहाँ महान्‌ कोलाहल हुआ ।। अपस्॒व्य॑ कृतं संख्ये भ्रातृव्येनात्यमर्षिणा । नामृष्यत तमप्याजौ प्रतिचक्रेडपसव्यत:

Transliteration

apasavyaṁ kṛtaṁ saṅkhye bhrātṛvyenātyamarṣiṇā | nāmṛṣyata tam apy ājau praticakre ’pasavyatāḥ ||

Translation

सञ्जय उवाच— अपसव्यं कृतं संख्ये भ्रातृव्येनात्यमर्षिणा; नामृष्यत तमप्याजौ प्रतिचक्रेडपसव्यतः।

Word by Word

अपसव्यम्leftward/inauspiciously (to the left)

कृतम्done/made

संख्येin battle

भ्रातृव्येनby the enemy/rival

अत्यमर्षिणाby the very intolerant/very wrathful one

नnot

अमृष्यतhe endured/tolerated

तम्him/that (act/person)

अपिalso/even

आजौin battle

प्रतिचक्रेhe turned back/retaliated

अपसव्यतःfrom the left side/leftwards

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

Sañjaya

bhrātṛvya (enemy/rival)

Character Dynamics

Dharma Sankata (Moral Dilemma)

War Context

Verse Rasa (Emotional Essence)

Philosophical Teaching

Political Layer

Geographic Context

Cross References

Meter (Chandas)

Sandhi Notes

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how, in war, perceived dishonour provokes immediate retaliation; it implicitly questions the ethical spiral where affront and counter-affront replace restraint, even within a dharma-framed battlefield.

What is happening in the narrative?

During combat, an enemy forces a warrior into an inauspicious leftward turn (apasavya). The warrior cannot bear it and responds by turning the opponent leftward in return—an act of countering humiliation with a matching manoeuvre.