Mahabharata 7.49.7 — Drona Parva, Adhyaya 49, Shloka 7

Droṇa-parva Adhyāya 49: Yudhiṣṭhira’s Lament and Strategic Foreboding after Abhimanyu’s Fall

Devanagari script

ततः सुबलदायादं कालिकेयमपोथयत्‌ | जघान चास्यानुचरान्‌ गान्धारान्‌ सप्तसप्ततिम्‌,तदनन्तर उसने सुबलपुत्र कालिकेयको मार गिराया और उसके पीछे चलनेवाले सतहत्तर गान्धारोंका भी संहार कर डाला

Transliteration

tataḥ subaladāyādaṃ kālikeyam apothayat | jaghāna cāsyānucarān gāndhārān saptasaptatim |

Translation

అప్పుడు అతడు సుబలవంశజుడైన కాలికేయుణ్ణి కూలదోసి సంహరించాడు; ఆపై అతని అనుచరులైన గాంధారులలో డెబ్బైఏడు మంది యోధులను కూడా వధించాడు.

Word by Word

• ततः: then, thereafter
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ततः

• सुबले: in/with regard to Subalā (name)
• सुबले: Adhikarana
• Type: Noun
• Root: सुबला
• Form: Feminine, Locative, Singular

• दायादम्: heir, descendant
• दायादम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: दायाद
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• कालिकेयम्: Kālikeya (a person)
• कालिकेयम्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: कालिकेय
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Singular

• अपोथयत्: struck down, felled
• Type: Verb
• Root: अपोथय् (अप + उथ/ओथय्)
• Form: Imperfect (Laṅ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

• जघान: slew, killed
• Type: Verb
• Root: हन्
• Form: Perfect (Liṭ), 3rd, Singular, Parasmaipada

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

• अस्य: of him, his
• Type: Pronoun
• Root: इदम्
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Genitive, Singular

• अनुचरान्: followers, attendants
• अनुचरान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: अनुचर
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• गान्धारान्: Gāndhāras (people of Gandhāra)
• गान्धारान्: Karma
• Type: Noun
• Root: गान्धार
• Form: Masculine, Accusative, Plural

• सप्त: seven
• Type: Numeral
• Root: सप्त
• Form: Indeclinable (numeral), Accusative (used adjectivally), Plural (sense)

• सप्ततिम्: seventy
• Type: Noun (numeral)
• Root: सप्तति
• Form: Feminine, Accusative, Singular

Speaker

संजय उवाच

Characters & Entities

• Sañjaya
• Subala
• Kālikeya
• Gandhāra (people/warriors)

Educational Q&A

What is the core teaching?

The verse highlights how, in the Mahābhārata’s war ethic, combat unfolds through duty-bound action: warriors are identified by lineage and allegiance, and the narrative stresses the cascading consequences of battle—when a leader falls, his retinue is also destroyed.

What is happening in the narrative?

Sañjaya reports that a warrior (implied by context) strikes down Kālikeya, described as Subala’s descendant, and then kills Kālikeya’s accompanying followers—seventy-seven Gandhāra fighters.