Shloka 73

Cakravyūha-saṃkalpaḥ, Saṃśaptaka-āhvānaṃ, Saubhadra-vikrīḍitam

Drona Parva, Adhyāya 32

Devanagari script

पदातिरथनागाश्चा गजाश्वरथपत्तिभि:

Transliteration

padātirathanāgāś ca gajāśvarathapattibhiḥ

Translation

पदातिरथनागाश्च गजाश्वरथपत्तिभिः।

Word by Word

• पदाति: foot-soldier, infantryman
• पदाति: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: पदाति
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• रथ: chariot
• रथ: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Singular

• नागाः: elephants
• नागाः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: नाग
• Form: Masculine, Nominative, Plural

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

• गज: by/with elephants
• गज: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: गज
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• अश्व: by/with horses
• अश्व: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: अश्व
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• रथ: by/with chariots
• रथ: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

• पत्तिभिः: by/with foot-soldiers
• पत्तिभिः: Karana
• Type: Noun
• Root: पत्ति
• Form: Masculine, Instrumental, Plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• infantry (padāti/patti)
• chariots (ratha)
• elephants (nāga/gaja)
• horses (aśva)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights the sheer magnitude and entanglement of warfare: when all divisions of an army collide together, the battle becomes a collective force that can eclipse individual judgment. Ethically, it points to the Mahābhārata’s recurring warning that war, once unleashed, rapidly becomes indiscriminate and difficult to control.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya is describing the battlefield scene in Droṇa Parva: multiple arms of the forces—infantry, chariots, elephants, and horses—are mixed together in the fighting, conveying a dense, tumultuous clash of troops.