Shloka 61

Devanagari script

ततः शस्त्राणि ते सर्वे समुत्सूज्य महीतले । अवारोहन रथेभ्यश्न हस्त्यश्रेभ्यश्व सर्वश:,तब वे समस्त सैनिक अपने अस्त्र-शस्त्रोंकोी धरतीपर डालकर रथ, हाथी और घोड़े आदि सभी वाहनोंसे उतर गये

Transliteration

tataḥ śastrāṇi te sarve samutsṛjya mahītale | avārohan rathebhyaś ca hastyaśvebhyaś ca sarvaśaḥ ||

Translation

ततः शस्त्राणि ते सर्वे समुत्सृज्य महीतले । अवारोहन रथेभ्यश्च हस्त्यश्वेभ्यश्च सर्वशः ॥

Word by Word

ततःthen, thereafter

शस्त्राणिweapons

तेthey

सर्वेall

समुत्सृज्यhaving cast/abandoned

महीतलेon the ground (earth-surface)

अवारोहनthey dismounted

रथेभ्यःfrom chariots

हस्त्यश्रेभ्यःfrom elephants and horses

सर्वशःentirely, in every way / all around

Speaker

अजुन उवाच

Characters & Entities

śastrāṇi (weapons)

mahītala (ground/earth)

ratha (chariot)

hasti (elephant)

aśva (horse)

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?

Even amid a righteous war, the Mahabharata repeatedly highlights moments where violence is checked by discipline and collective restraint. Laying down weapons and dismounting suggests a recognition that force must be governed—whether by a truce, a rule of combat, or a moral hesitation—so that warfare does not become unbounded cruelty.

What is happening in the narrative?

A group of fighters collectively throws down their weapons onto the ground and dismounts from their vehicles—chariots, elephants, and horses—indicating a sudden halt or suspension of active fighting and a shift in the immediate battlefield situation.