Mahabharata 7.159.4 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 159, Shloka 4

अध्याय १५९ — रात्रौ श्रमविरामः

Night Exhaustion and Brief Pause in Battle

Devanagari script

ततः समभवद्‌ युद्धमतीव भयवर्धनम्‌ | त्वदीयानां परेषां च घोरं विजयकाड्क्षिणाम्‌,फिर तो विजयकी अभिलाषा रखनेवाले आपके और शत्रुपक्षके सैनिकोंमें अत्यन्त भंयकर घोर युद्ध छिड़ गया

Transliteration

tataḥ samabhavad yuddham atīva bhayavardhanam | tvadīyānāṃ pareṣāṃ ca ghoraṃ vijayakāṅkṣiṇām ||

Translation

பின்னர் வெற்றியை நாடிய உங்கள் படையினரும் எதிர்ப்படையினரும் மோத, அச்சத்தை மிகுதியாக்கும் கொடிய போர் எழுந்தது।

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः (तद्-प्रातिपदिकात्)
• Form: अव्यय

• समभवत्: arose, happened
• समभवत्: Karta
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: लङ् (अनद्यतनभूत), प्रथमपुरुष, एकवचन

• युद्धम्: battle, war
• युद्धम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: युद्ध (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• अतीव: exceedingly, very
• अतीव: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: अतीव
• Form: अव्यय

• भयवर्धनम्: fear-increasing, terror-augmenting
• भयवर्धनम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: भयवर्धन (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• त्वदीयानाम्: of your (people)
• त्वदीयानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्वदीय (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (सामान्यतः), षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• परेषाम्: of the others, of the enemies
• परेषाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: पर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (सामान्यतः), षष्ठी, बहुवचन

• च: and
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: च
• Form: अव्यय

• घोरम्: terrible, dreadful
• घोरम्: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: घोर (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, द्वितीया, एकवचन

• विजयकाङ्क्षिणाम्: of those desiring victory
• विजयकाङ्क्षिणाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Adjective
• Root: विजयकाङ्क्षिन् (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग (सामान्यतः), षष्ठी, बहुवचन

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sanjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by address 'tvadīyānām')
• Kaurava army (tvadīyāḥ)
• Pandava/opposing army (pare)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights a moral-psychological truth: when both sides become fixated on victory, conflict escalates into a fear-amplifying, ruthless struggle. It implicitly warns that victory-lust can eclipse restraint (dharma) and magnify collective suffering.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sanjaya reports to Dhṛtarāṣṭra that a fierce battle has erupted between the Kaurava forces ('yours') and the opposing army. Both sides are portrayed as intent on winning, and the immediate consequence is an intensely terrifying clash.