Shloka 41

Droṇasya raudra-prayogaḥ

Droṇa’s intensified assault and the Pāṇḍava response

Devanagari script

ततः प्रववृते युद्ध परस्परवधैषिणाम्‌

Transliteration

tataḥ pravavṛte yuddhaṃ parasparavadhaiṣiṇām

Translation

सञ्जय उवाच—ततः प्रववृते युद्धं परस्परवधैषिणाम्।

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततस्
• Form: Avyaya (ablatival adverb: 'from that/thereafter')

• प्रववृते: arose, began, commenced
• Type: Verb
• Root: वृत् (वर्तते)
• Form: Perfect (लिट्), 3rd person singular, Ātmanepada

• युद्धम्: battle, war
• युद्धम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: युद्ध
• Form: Neuter, accusative singular

• परस्पर-वधैषिणाम्: of those desiring mutual slaughter (of one another)
• परस्पर-वधैषिणाम्: Karta
• Type: Adjective
• Root: परस्पर + वध + एषिन्
• Form: Masculine, genitive plural

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• yuddha (the battle)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how war, once unleashed, becomes reciprocal and self-perpetuating: when both sides seek each other’s death, ethical restraint (dharma as self-control and proportion) is eclipsed by the shared intention to destroy.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that the fighting now fully breaks out: the combatants on both sides engage directly, driven by mutual hostility and the desire to kill one another.