Mahabharata 7.159.22 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 159, Shloka 22

अध्याय १५९ — रात्रौ श्रमविरामः

Night Exhaustion and Brief Pause in Battle

Devanagari script

ततः सप्त रथान्‌ वीर: स्यालानां तव भारत

Transliteration

tataḥ sapta rathān vīraḥ syālānāṃ tava bhārata

Translation

అప్పుడు, ఓ భారతా! ఆ వీరుడు నీ శ్యాలులైన వారి ఏడు రథాలపైకి దూసుకెళ్లాడు; యుద్ధపు కఠిన బలవంతంలో బంధుత్వాన్ని పక్కన పెట్టాడు.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• ततः: Adhikarana
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः
• Form: indeclinable

• सप्त: seven
• सप्त: Karma
• Type: Adjective
• Root: सप्त
• Form: masculine, accusative, plural

• रथान्: chariots
• रथान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: रथ
• Form: masculine, accusative, plural

• वीरः: the hero/warrior
• वीरः: Karta
• Type: Noun
• Root: वीर
• Form: masculine, nominative, singular

• स्यालानाम्: of the brothers-in-law
• स्यालानाम्: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्याल
• Form: masculine, genitive, plural

• तव: of you/your
• तव: Adhikarana
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: युष्मद्
• Form: common, genitive, singular

• भारत: O Bharata (descendant of Bharata)
• भारत: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: भारत
• Form: masculine, vocative, singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Dhṛtarāṣṭra (implied by address 'Bhārata')
• syālāḥ (brothers-in-law; unspecified group)
• seven chariots

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The line underscores a recurring Mahābhārata ethic: in the battlefield, social bonds like kinship do not necessarily restrain action when one is bound by kṣatriya-duty and the momentum of conflict—highlighting the tragedy of dharma operating within war.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a heroic warrior turns toward (or confronts) seven chariots associated with Dhṛtarāṣṭra’s brothers-in-law, indicating an escalation where multiple chariot-fighters are engaged at once.